Caught In The Tides Of time
by azhiraz
Summary: Tidus reincarnates, but on Earth, not Spira. Cultures clash when his good Samaritan turns out to be an Earth girl with an attitude. There is mature content, adult language & situations, sexual scenes of strong heterosexual nature, some reversed dominance, & some graphic violence. I take no credit for the stunning world of Final Fantasy or it inhabitants - it's all Square Enix.
1. Chapter 1

**Caught in the Tides of Time**

Light. He frantically searched for light & could not find any; just a warm dark without end. Screaming, he thrashed & fought with all the strength of youth dying young, until exhaustion took him into unconsciousness.

_This is IT… I am dying…Yuna…Yevon, I don't want to die…SAVE ME…._Tidus frantically thought as blackness darker than the dark around him invaded his skull & his body functions ceased to obey him.

There he drifted, weightless, in the dark, his body curling back into the age old fetal position as time & the cosmos discussed his fate.

He came back into consciousness slowly; there were now different sensations – a rhythmic movement of the environment against his body, a cool wetness; he could see a faint glow of red against his closed eyelids; puzzling, since he last remembered nothing but endless, non-moving black all around him. He opened his eyes & startled, he recognized the color blue. His eyes adjusted & he saw beams of light piercing water; then bits of seaweed, plankton & the sparkle of sand illuminated in those beams.

_I'm alive!? Yevon, oh Yevon, bless you! _He tilted his head up, & through the deep water, he saw a wavering orb of light above the ceiling of wavering blue; he unfolded his body & began to swim up, up, towards it, a stream of bubbles escaping his mouth in a silent scream of joy.

He broke the surface tension easily, exploding out of the water into bright light, greedily sucking in the sweet salt air as if it were nectar; he floated, stretching in a luxury of movement; then flipped upright, starting treading water to look at his surroundings, & wondered: _Where AM I? This doesn't look like Spira or Zanarkand – I feel…lighter…the sun's the wrong color! But the ocean is the same - And I think I see a city over there, so there must be people…Wow, there's a machina in the sky! I have GOT to get to land!"_

Diving in the surf, he began to swim towards shore, his firmly muscled body moving with ease; as he came closer to shore, he noticed rock-like formations in the water, with creatures darting about; his curiosity overtook him & he dove down; He was enchanted by the colorful life in front of him; minute intense purple & yellow finned creatures turned as one in a small school to avoid a larger finned creature the size of his hand, the flat body vivid with yellow & black stripes, with a pair of long trailing fins top & bottom. He noticed the multicolored rocks were actually a colony of living creatures; and he became momentarily excited; it was like he found a piece of heaven somehow. He dove deeper to follow the creatures, touched the sandy bottom & began to drift upwards, his eyes taking in the delightful picture of life unfolding in the living rock wall.

With a jolt, he felt his foot caught; he kicked harder to free it, & suddenly he was yanked into the rock wall with force; he felt pain as something began to pull backwards in the wall, trying to take his foot with it; he pushed with all his strength against the wall, trying to keep from being sucked into a wall of rock that would shred him to pieces. Frantically he looked around for a weapon, a tool, help, _anything_ to stop it.

A large creature was in the distance, swimming towards him; now dismayed, he assumed that it was a predator, looking for dinner, or worse. The something in the wall yanked harder & his ankle felt like it was being wrenched apart; more bubbles from his mouth floated up, this time in a silent scream of agony. Suddenly, the pain stopped; looking down, the creature he saw in the distance was now at his feet; a razor sharp hand weapon in a humanoid hand flashed in the water finishing the stroke that had cut through his shoe, freeing him. It looked up, and through a haze of bubbles from an attached breathing tube, he made out the glass of a mask framing a face of an angel, with eyes the same color as the ocean around them. Suddenly a large headed creature, cleverly patterned in black & white to match the living rock wall, darted back in a hole with his shoe firmly clamped in its massive jaws. The angel pointed up, & took his arms, gently pushing him to the surface. Shocked, he kept his eyes locked on her ocean-deep eyes, an unfathomable expression in them.

Breaking surface again, he started to talk: "Thank you, my angel! What was that creature? Was it going to eat me? Where am I? I'm not on Spira or Zanarkand, am I? What is the name of this planet?"

Puzzled, he stopped at her silence – was she mute? She had pushed up the face mask, taken out the breathing tube & was sitting there, watching him warily as he chattered away at her. _She doesn't speak Spirean. Oh, great. Ok, let's try single words. _

"Tidus"He pronounced his name clearly, & pointed at himself. He raised his eyebrows & pointed at her.

"Christina!"She proudly pronounced – then broke into the most awesome, blinding smile, showing even white teeth against a golden skin.

He couldn't help but grin back, suddenly aware of the fellow feeling of absolute relief at escaping death he felt being reflected back in her blue green eyes.

"Zanarkand?" He asked.A shake of the head, sideways, no recognition in the eyes_ – Hmm..must mean no, or I don't know. _

"Death?"He pointed down & mimicked the creature's jaws clamping down She went into alert, eyes registering recognition, rapidly moving her head up & down –_ Ah! – must mean yes. _

She pointed to shore, & mimed swimming arm movements, pointed at his foot, raising eyebrows. Tidus nodded rapidly up & down, like she did, & started to swim, showing her he was not badly hurt. She kept up with him stroke for stroke until they reached shore. Wading out, he saw many more people on the sandy beach, all dressed or undressed in the most unusual costumes…and…barefoot. He stripped off the remaining shoe & followed her across the sand, trying to ignore the stares & vocalizations that sounded puzzled, joking & mocking all at the same time.

_Oh my God, where the hell do these guys come from every year?_ Christina wondered… _Zanarkand? Is that near Uzbeckistan or something? Well, I'll get the idiot to his hotel room; after all he is a guest in my_ _country. I hope that ankle isn't broken_. She saw Tidus begin to hobble across the sand to her car, & as he came closer, his sheer male beauty hit her like nothing else she'd seen in her 35 years on this planet. Deep golden brown skin flowed smoothly over firm muscles that were knit over a slim hipped, high lateralled frame; his legs also rippled with muscle, but not to an extreme; a glimpse of a well molded core with visible ab muscles and the push of high sculpted pectorals filled out his cropped yellow hooded shirt. He shook his head, & drops of water shot from spiky hair that was beginning to glow golden, thick & shining with a luster that seemed…well..unworldly. His eyes were blue, but you don't see a blue like that here; they were set in a finely boned face, subtly alien in its contours; almost as delicate as an Asian's, but somehow set with a firm aura of masculinity that brought a mindless swell of unnamed emotion to her soul; she wanted to cry, laugh, & orgasm at the same time. Disgusted with herself for the sense of primal attraction, she put on her aviator sunglasses to filter her view.

_Speaking of unworldly! _She thought as she took in the outlandish clothing, a near-costume of asymmetrical length shorts, semi armored shoulder, heavy gauntlet & glittering silver chain. The local boys in the next car were starting to drift over, curious. Christina smelled a fight coming on, & somehow, she just knew, this guy would call too much attention to himself if she let it happen.

She strode forward, calling out "Tidus!", motioning to come to her. She brought over her biggest beach towel & draped it over his shoulders to hide the costume. She loudly commented: "Man, Tidus, I am sorry that last wave was too much for you – you guys from Uzbeckistan are a little short on beaches, huh? Let me get you back to the modeling agency, ok? " She looked over casually at the local boys & shrugged "–I tell ya, they keep sending me guys that can't speak English - I'll never get this costume catalog done for Frightfest! You guys coming this year?"

Some nod, commenting on the awesomeness of the last Frightfest, they liked the costumes from the latest game, Final Fantasy something or other. Some were grinning at a chance to see a non-local that got hammered by the waves they got hammered by when they were just kids; they quickly drifted off, losing interest, a reasonable explanation put in their heads about a gorgeous guy in a strange outfit who couldn't speak a word of English on a California beach.

Tidus started to talk, walking around the car, touching it hesitantly & through the nonsensical sounds she made out a familiar word; _**Machina**_. She nodded & repeated the word, pointing at the car. She opened the passenger door, then hers, & got in with a flourish, waving him in. He sat in the seat, crouching, curious as a cat. For the next 15 minutes she tried to get a hotel name out of him, then gave it up. She debated what to do, and decided to take him home. Maybe she could figure out how to make him understand with her PC. She couldn't decide if he was a simpleton, an extra in a film, an illegal immigrant, or a tourist with extreme fashion tastes, but in any case, she simply was not afraid of him.

When they arrived at her home, he continued his indecipherable commentary, occasionally grimacing at the pain in his ankle as they walked through the driveway & entryway. He sat down heavily on the couch & she went in search of the first aid kit. She came back to the scene of Tidus passed out cold on her couch, head tilted back, damp clothes soaking into the soft canvas cover. Sighing, she bent down, did her CNA's lift & carry of a senior nursing home resident, & put him in her bed. Stoically, she removed the outlandish costume from his near perfect body, placing a tee shirt & surf shorts on the table by him. She hung the damp clothing to dry in the shower door, dialed delivery of groceries for a 3 day weekend, called into work for time off on Monday, then sat down to examine the silvery necklace he was wearing. It was an unusual alloy, nothing she'd seen before; a pale frosty finish, unlike silver or white gold; more like platinum or palladium, with a glinting refraction. She took it to her office, equipped with a few things from her medical student days, turned on her microscope, & started to look at it under magnification.

She made jewelry when she wasn't a med tech LPN at a nursing home, & she knew a fair amount about metalworking, but she'd never seen a chain made like the one in her 50x view. The chain seemed to be made up of several, no, hundreds of miniscule links, intricately fitted together into a larger, repeating pattern. It was like looking at an M.C. Escher drawing of impossible spaces, clever, detailed & playing with one's sense of perspective. The pretty glittering finish on the metal intrigued her very much. It was a puzzle; it wasn't bonded, like powder coating, or sprayed on, like a lacquer. It was more of a baked on finish, like enamel, but infinitely harder. She couldn't scratch it with her tweezers; in an extreme fit of curiosity, she tried her gold pendant; then the sapphire in the pendant; then got a diamond out of her jewelry safe & then, only then, could she scratch the surface. H_mm…only diamonds can scratch diamonds...Oh, my! there's nothing like this on earth I've seen, & I KNOW it's not new technology from China or India! Wait a sec there, Christy girl- If this chain is NOT from Earth, then where is Tidus from?_

It then dawned on her that Zanarkand was somewhere…else.

She was now afraid, but firmly, put aside her fear. He seem evil, just lost. He didn't deserve to be handed over to a herd of scientists or the government. Her life would never be the same peaceful existence she had tried so hard to build, if it were discovered she found an alien species here on Earth.

She silently went back to the bedroom, placed the chain on the clothes, & sat there on the edge of the bed watching him sleep until the sun began to set, thinking. When she decided on her course of action, she sighed, & went back to the phone, calling the bookstore for a copy of Rosetta Stone in English. And called in to work again, this time, for the entire week. She would stay involved, but only enough to get him out of harm's way.

Tidus slept through sunset, but woke when the cool evening beach breeze began to flow through the windows & patio doors of the second floor condo Christina inhabited. She had a nice place, 2 blocks off the shore, with a peekaboo view of the ocean from the lanai. It was furnished simply, but with a certain elegance; the colors were muted naturals, with a few superb pieces of Asian art juxtaposed against the earthy colors of the walls & furniture. She kept her bike & surfboard in the hall, like a teenager; her aikido weapons hung neatly in the office, next to old medical school equipment & jeweler's bench. The scent of fine Japanese incense or handmade scented candles filled the air to make the space welcoming haven against the world of a million tasks & sick people that filled Christina's work life. The time off was spent making jewelry, or surfing. Surfing usually won.

Tidus padded out in the tee & surf shorts, necklace hidden under the shirt & smiled when he saw her sitting on the lanai, enjoying the evening with a bit of music issuing from the Ipod. She noted he wasn't favoring the ankle, & the deep scratches from the coral were now a fading pick weal on the bronzed skin. She pointed, tilted a head to the side & clearly said: "No hurt?"

"No hurt."Tidus mimicked. He rubbed his stomach & brought hand to mouth several times, in a plea for food. He was ready to eat anything- even Al Bhed food, spicy hot as the sun. Christina hesitated, thinking: _What if our food is incompatible with his digestive system? Will it poison him?_ She decided on rice, the most easily digested starch on the planet, hoping it would be a good first try. She brought him rice in a bowl, with various utensils in the hope he'd recognize something. He picked chopsticks & handled them well. He politely smiled & said something that had the mood of a thank you, but she could tell the rice didn't satisfy him. _Ok, Christy girl, wait a few minutes & see if he's OK…..oh never mind, he'd be puking his guts out by now if it were incompatible…let's have some fun exploring Earth food, LOL!_

_So, _ the evening was spent in an odd feast for both of them – Christina simply brought out just about everything in refrigerator, set it on the table, & they began to eat, as she watched him intently, occasionally spearing a piece of something herself, using her PC to show him pictures of the plants or animals that it came from. At some point Tidus had the wit to fake a choking fit after trying broccoli, only to see her jump up, fear on her face. He began to laugh, a normal human laugh like anyone else here; then she finally got the idea he was enjoying the taste of Earth's food with no ill effects.

As the hours passed, they became much more at ease with each other, laughing at the faces & sounds they made at trying to describe the taste of various things: the sweetness of strawberries; the rich fatty taste of fresh coconut meat; the delicate crispness of iceberg lettuce; the clean, yet meaty taste of raw tuna; then she slyly let him bite into a raw jalapeno, at which she laughed merrily. Tidus' face turned red & he began to curse in Spirean - she then ran to the fridge & shoved a glass of a white beverage at him, which tasted creamy & mild, clearly not of plant origin – for a moment he was in shock, as he recalled the taste of his mother's milk, rich & satisfying as this; he couldn't help but look down at her breasts, wondering _did she just feed me from her own breast?…Holy Yevon! How weird is that?_ But she pointed to a picture of a placid beast on the PC screen.

Blushing, he drank it off, cooling the heat on his tongue & berated himself for thinking such a stupid primitive thought of this angelic creature who rescued him from the ocean creature. _Back down, you Zanarkand Zero_, he reminded himself. _You're no longer on your home playing field. It's her rules, her world. She might not even be a compatible race, even though she looks like me._ _And what about Yuna, your lost love?_ _Where is Christina's mate? Does she even like men? How do I ask her these questions? _

Later, after he eaten his fill of food, Christina turned the PC to him & he stared at the machina as she demonstrated how to scroll through the pages of the Rosetta stone language program. He eagerly began to look at the pictures & try to reproduce the sounds. She mimed to him she was going to sleep on the couch & pointed him to the bedroom. He nodded, smiled & pointed at the PC machine, then turned back to it. Christina fell asleep to the gentle clacking of the PC keys & vocalizations of the Rosetta Stone program.

Dawn brought a pleasant awakening to Christina; it was another lovely California summer day, rose wings unfolding into a soft light against the sky & ocean. She turned & saw the PC open, but on screen save, & then quietly walked to her bedroom door to see if Tidus was sleeping. He was stretching lazily; he turned & smiled sweetly at her, then rolled out of bed, shaking his golden flag of spiky hair until it settled into a halo around his keenly cut face. "Good morning, Cristina! How are you today?"

Shocked, Christina stared & stumbled a reply:"You can speak my language? So soon?"

Tidus replied_: _"Well.. not all of it, yet. But I think I can communicate better today. SO…what is this place called? I am from Zanarkand, but was in Spirea before I came here…I need to return home, do you know the way back?" 

Seeing her silent before him, he had a sinking feeling he had made a mistake in protocol; perhaps he was supposed to do something before asking a question about himself. He hastily tried to remember the etiquette of thanking someone here- there were so many ways, so he decided on three ways that would cover as much of the land masses as he could, there was no way he was going to offend this lovely creature who saved him:"Christina, that is your name, correct? I, Tidus, humbly & sincerely thank you for saving me from that creature in the living wall in the water – I thought I was going to die. Praise Yevon for your intervention, I am forever in your debt!"

Tidus stepped forward & brought his arms around her, then bent down & touched her feet in reverence, then her head. Christina's eyes widened when she saw him stepping forward again, this time taking her face in his warm brown hands & kissing both cheeks, in the florid French style.

"Did I get the protocol right, or wrong?" He asked.

Christina's eyes crinkled in good humor & replied: "Of course, if you were my friend, then from India, then a Frenchman! One form of a thank you is usually enough here. I do understand you very well, Tidus – How could I not succor anyone in such distress?"

She gently continued, speaking simply as she would to a child_: _"Tidus, I know you are not from here – In fact, Tidus, NO ONE from another planet has officially visited this planet yet. It is called Earth. We don't travel the galaxy yet – we have only been able to travel to this planet, the moon" –She gestured at the dawn sky where a crescent moon was fading. "And Tidus, I am sorry, I do not know the way home, to Zanarkand. But I'll help you try to find it."

Tidus was dejected at first, but his naturally sunny disposition didn't let him stay down for long; after another meal of his favorite foods from last night, he was ready to go explore this Earth. He asked to go back to the beach & swim in the ocean to see the living rock wall again. Christina agreed, but brought up some uncomfortable facts: This city required identification cards; a background had to be built for him; he must never expose his origins, because he would be jailed & deported, or worse, given over to the government, who could dissect him a molecule at a time. Worse, she would be jailed for harboring an illegal immigrant & also be 'debriefed' by the government for however long they pleased – neither sounded pleasant to Tidus. He began to realize that Christina had really taken a huge risk on his behalf by rescuing him & bringing him to her home. The early afternoon was spent finding a person Christina knew who would do things just on the outside of the fence of the law here; she paid a rather large chunk of her savings buying him a background, a passport, a driver's license & a birth certificate. She bought him more clothing to make him fit in, more food, LOTS more food, as he demolished most of her supply already with just two meals.

She felt comfortable enough with him to take him down to the boardwalk that sunset & walk around, to get the feel of the city & all variety of humans that lived there. Tidus took an enormous delight in the colorful, neon lit boardwalk, exclaiming at everything like a big kid, yet kept his cool like a seasoned warrior. His handsome face & superb body attracted some attention, but no more than a bodybuilder from Venice Beach on parade. He heard music from a dance club & was entranced by the amplified sounds; he explained he never heard music like that, music from his city was more like chanting in rhythm, telling stories; when a rap piece came up in rotation, he grinned, nodding at the familiar beat-speak sound issuing from the speaker cabinets. He started to move in rhythm, much to the delight of the crowd. Christina got sucked into the dance floor as he kept moving; before they knew it, they were moving in sync, Tidus moving effortlessly around her. Dazed, Christina realized he was different as she attempted to dance with him; humans don't move so effortlessly, or adapt so quickly to the environment. There much more subtlety to his movement than the moves most clubbers did; there were more isolations of muscle groups, & the combinations had a smooth flow to them that made the hip hop dancers appear almost spastic. _I wonder what the sex is like? _ She thought, & the thought of beautiful Tidus, clasping her pale gold body close to his warm sunbrowned satin skin, kissing her, teasing her, fucking her in a haze of heat that began to cauterize her mind. She wanted to stop, but the music & his body moving in rhythm so close to hers made her a helpless slave to her sensory overloaded mind. The air seemed to shimmer around them, his eyes took on a faraway glitter & an invisible throb of power began to slowly build with the music. She managed to tear her eyes off his, & glimpsed over his shoulder, seeing everyone hanging there, in ecstasy at feeling that invisible force hang in the air. At the last notes hung in the air, she felt oddly unreal, like almost sick to her stomach; it was like reality began to skew off track somehow. Tidus pulled her close, swinging her up lightly into his arms. He walked out of the bar with her ignoring the stares & whistles. He set her down outside and asked: "Are you OK?"

Taking deep breaths of ocean air, she finally said "Yes – what was that, Tidus?"

"What was what? I was having fun in there with you! But it was kind of smoky – I saw your eyes dilate; were you going to faint or something? C'mon, lets walk some more down this boardwalk –can we listen to more music? Do you move to the music on your machina, sorry, machine, at home?"

Shrewdly, Christina realized he must have had extraordinary reflexes to notice her eyes dilating while moving like a hip hop star; she kept her mouth shut & instead, carefully asked Tidus what he did back home in Zanarkand. She was then treated to a solid hour's discourse on a sport named Blitzball, his team, the Zanarkand Abes, his position, their record and a multitude of sports statistics she could barely absorb in one sitting. But it actually explained a lot about him to her mind's eye. It certainly explained the ultrafit body & reflexes.

"…and there has to be a doorway, a gate of some kind to take me back, because I got here through one, Christina…"

Christina snapped back into full attention at the sound of her name, wishing she could find a way back home for this young being & wondered what waited for him there. She cleared her throat & asked: "So, Tidus, you must miss your home a lot – I am sure a lot of people miss you there – your family, your friends, your girlfriend….want to talk about it?"

"Oh Christina, she's not my girlfriend, she's…she's…Yuna…I'm her guardian, I know she's missing me, I love her…I'd do anything to get back to her…so I've just GOT to find a way back, see?"

Christina smiled a sad smile in the dark, thankful he couldn't see it. She pitched her voice from leaking any sadness or disappointment with a soft neutral: "Yeah, Tidus. I'll help you as best I can."

_Christina the good Samaritan, _she bitterly thought as she laid on the couch in the dark, trying to relax & sleep. _Of course_ _Tidus would have a girl. Oh well. Give it up, Christy girl. You and love were never meant to meet. You're only a roadstop along the way, the nice girl from Earth who helped him out, and utterly forgettable. _

The next morning, she spent a few hours on the internet, idly typing in phrases from his involved tale of Zanarkand, gates in time, Spirea, anything she could remember, hoping to find some clue where to start a search for a gate to another world. Then it caught on something – she had typed blitzball & games, & there it was – a hit…some virtual reality game – Final Fantasy..._Hey, wasn't that what the local motion boys called Tidus' costume? It fits, doesn't it? Now…how would a human know all about the worlds of Spirea & Zanarkand?_ She looked for the games creator, found a bio, & began to read it slowly, but with a growing sense of excitement. The gaming website proudly displayed detailed sketches an artist, Morimoto Honsu, had created for the gaming company. He had to have been there, or knew someone who had. He was Japanese but kept a home in Northern California. It was too much of a coincidence for Christina. She called the publisher's office, faked a magazine editor, & was granted an interview in 3 days time.

_Mori will know what to do with him. Then I can go back to my calm, ordered life & forget there's life anywhere in the universe but here. _

Then her God smacked her in the head, because Tidus was leaning over her shoulder, saying: "WOW! You found a gatekeeper! You are really clever, Christina! I'll never, ever forget this!"He snatched her up out of the kitchen chair & spun around the room with her, laughing in pure happiness.

_Oh great, _she thought. _I want to forget him, & he says he'll never forget me. What a pair we make._

Tidus drew back, puzzled at the expression on her face that she flashed & swiftly hid again. Suddenly, he was thrown into doubt about her, what he was doing here, why he trusted her so. Was she a demon in disguise? A fayth? Another evil being with a fair face? He so badly wanted it to be untrue. He remembered there was a way; Yuna had showed him once the moves of a minor summoning, which any child in Spirea could do.

Christina spent another hour at the PC, arranging travel & accommodations near Mori Honsu's house in San Francisco. A pounding on the door occurred with a local motion boy's voice screaming 'Surf's UP!' as he ran by with his board. Christina jumped up like a teenager, ran for the bedroom, tore off her clothes & pulled on a swimsuit with a surf shirt, then scuttled out the door, leaving Tidus, trips, everything behind in anticipation of some much needed stress relief. Waves were always good for that.

The surf was up nicely, a good set of six foot easy rollers coming in from the southwest; she ran in, dove under a wave & paddled out to her favorite spot, then rode waves for a good hour. It felt so good to just enjoy sun & surf, no worries out in the water. Surfing was a meditation in movement, one old surfing hack told her over drinks at the pier one night.

Tidus was there, sitting on the beach, when she came striding out of the water, carrying her board. She suddenly felt stifled by him, & suddenly tired of feeling like she had to pretend, she simply turned around, & dove back in the water than face him in all his gorgeousness. Her senses were overloaded with being on full hormone alert every time he was near & for the millionth time in 2 days, she wondered why on earth why humans were such a mess, lesser clay than the rest of the universe.

_I envy him,_ She thought. _…it seems to be the life we all are dying to have, yet here we humans are, stuck in aging, smelly, imperfect bodies, no quests, no pilgrimages, no heroes, no heroines lovelier than dawn. Man, I hope he can't smell the hormones. _

A dark shadow was below her in the water, & she became wary; hoping it was just a seal, she jumped up on her board & took the drop early; she screamed as a light thump made the board shudder, & she was clasped suddenly by two warm bronze hands, as the board dropped into the rolling tube of wave; as always, the moment of being in the zone half awed her; she forgot about Tidus riding behind her, reached out & trailed her fingers in the wall of the wave; Tidus' hand rose & placed itself besides hers, & they rode the tube out. He kept his balance perfectly with hers, adjusting to every little balancing move she made. It was like he was made for her, a perfect being to match her on the board.

Once they splashed ashore, she became suddenly shy, realizing she'd just opened herself totally up to a stranger, an alien, no less; she honestly didn't know what he was thinking, or felt. She steeled herself & met his eyes square, drawing breath to ask if he liked the perfect ride, then let it go, as she saw the steady warmth of his deep blue eyes, the understanding of her written on his face at last. He reached forward, took her board from her hands, then gently took her hand, leading her back up the beach to her condo.

Tidus understood her better, after that surf ride. She was not in the least evil; a passionate, yet logical nature drove the body. She was a matured mind, fearlessly using it to keep him alive. She was just hiding the fact she was attracted to him as a man. He was sublimely attracted, too, in a way that was far different than when he thought of Yuna. The shadow of Yuna & her pure, undying, near-holy love became a pale, ungraspable thing compared to the reality of this strange, clever creature who handled weapons & machines with aplomb. Christina's body made his body hungry in a way Yuna's did not; the pale gold skin set off the amazing ocean blue green eyes; her physique was beautifully athletic, yet soft with curves; her face was considered a near regal one by his world's standards: a long oval, high cheekbones, a brow softly curved as a butterfly's feeler that could turn sardonic in the blink of an eye with a smile fresh & clear as an amused water goddess, marred by the faintest of scars on the upper lip, which somehow made her smile all the more impossibly endearing to him.

He shook his head in bemusement, thinking: _No, we're not lovers; a lover would be blind to all the little details I note about her, like that scar on her lip, or the bruises on her left knee from dragging it on the surfboard. I am blind to anything about Yuna but the thought of Yuna's love. I can't remember if Yuna has any scars. Oh Yevon, I want this woman with eyes of ocean._

An afterthought occurred:_ Hell, I forgot to ask! I hope she doesn't have a lover already. Tidus, you are an A-number-one-idiot! _

The evening took an uncomfortable turn for Tidus, who was now keenly aware of Christina in ways he'd never felt before. His blood was boiling over, yet he had to keep a tight rein on himself, hold back, so she'd not be frightened of him. He debated the many forms of approach, and decided direct with a mature compliment would at least get her to think about him. She had changed from her suit into a piece of wrapped fabric she called a sarong, subtly emphasizing the flare of her hips with a primitive batik pattern dyed into the silk. Her skin seemed to have turned into a deeper gold today, & he softly caught her hand in passing, asking her:"Did your skin change color? ….your skin is beautiful…it flows over your body like the fabric you are wearing, Christina."

He saw her blush, sudden warmth filling her as the words dropped into her like soft hot drops of fire. But she didn't remove her hand from his. He had her attention. He continued, gently pressing his advantage: "I am surprised you do not have a long line of lovers atyour door, beautiful Christina; are they all blind to your beauty here? Or are they all immature boys with crushes on dream girls?_" _

"I don't have a lover right now, Tidus. And men here judge beauty differently than your people. I am considered somewhat ordinary, & too old. Men judge beauty & desirability with youth here." She shrugged.

He responded with a shrug himself, saying; "Age is no matter in Spirea, or Zanarkand. I could be your lover, you could be a 150 year old matriarch and no one would bat an eye. You would be well filled with love & happiness if you were there instead of here, eking out a bare existence, with no love here day after day, until you wither away. I…I'd like that, Christina. To be your lover."

Tidus kissed the palm of the hand he had kept hold of, then slowly, turned it palm down, led it down, forcing her fingers to touch the skin of his face, neck, & chest to finally rest upon his heart, to feel the solid beat there. " I am real. I am here, _now_, & I am ready to be your lover."He looks up under his dark lashes with a devastatingly flirtatious look of sapphire- not a child's pretty colorbox hue, but that color at the base of the flame, where the fire burns hottest."What do _you_ say, Christina?"

She trembled, her knees were weak & her mouth could not speak; it was suddenly filled with juices in anticipation of joining with Tidus; At the same time she wanted to escape, hide from the sheer intensity of physical sensation; she was suddenly sick at the pit of her stomach. He was an alien, she was afraid she would not survive this night, remembering the strange throb of power in the club & the mindless ecstasy of the crowd surrounding Tidus –she saw herself also mindless, then in agony, face contorted in a rictus, dying in a prolonged spasm of overwhelming pleasure & it shook her deeply.

_Run, Christy girl. _She whirled & sprinted for the door. Startled, Tidus unwound himself from the couch & jumped over the back in an uncanny flowing move, but saw her reach the door before he could catch her.

In desperation, he yanked on the chain around his neck & lashed out at her with it; singing, it expands in a glittering arc several feet long, like a primitive set of Thai warrior beads and meets her golden skin; the superstrong alloy wraps itself around her wrist, stinging her with a slash of the last links. Obedient, the other end of the chain had wrapped itself around his wrist, binding the two of them together in an elegant hand cuff; he slowly steps closer, the chain-maille mindlessly coiling the excess around their wrists until they stand face to face. The chain would loosen & coil back into itself with a quick movement to the pendant; it was an old weapon his father gave him, which he now employed in the war of love for the evening.

Recklessly, with the complete abandon of youth, he kisses her, fiercely demonstrating his desire to bring her pleasure until his knees begin to buckle; it is Christina who now reacts, throwing her free arm around his slim waist to prevent him from falling on the floor. The contact of flesh to flesh sizzles & takes fire as they both realize they both have the same desire.

In the silence of the room, Tidus speaks the only words he can remember of the joining ritual of Zanarkand:"You are mine, and I…I am yours…"

Christina woke up with a dry taste in her mouth & tried to get up out of bed to get water. She was still bound to Tidus, which was a physical reminder of last night's events. She sat stock still, wondering: _What the hell happened to me last night? .God. I fucked an alien, & I liked it._ Wryly, she remembered an old film from the 1980's : Earth Girls Are Easy. The odd title was exactly how she felt, & she began to giggle inside, a soft internal jolt of humor shaking her sore abs.

"What are you laughing at?" Tidus asked, one eye open. She told him; at that point, he burst out laughing, then threw a pillow at her. "Well, you survived! The question is today: How much did you like it?"

He sat up & quietly worked the chain loose, micro links clicking back into place, then mindlessly obedient, the threadlike chain began self–looping & weaving back into the beautiful heavy white frosted metal necklace that sat on his neck in a neat loop. Tidus rolled out of the bed, stretching limbs until they cracked, then started a warm up routine that would make a 5th dan martial arts master go pale. Christina quietly left the bedroom, & quietly pursued her own morning ritual on the lanai, moving in a tai chi/yoga combination, meditating on the gentle aspect of the morning unfolding in front of her.

"You move beautifully, when you think no one's looking." Tidus's voice gently chimed in on her last Namaste. He was sitting crosslegged on the kitchen counter, very relaxed, the mass of spiky hair gleaming in the early morning light like spun gilt threads. " I could train you for Blitzball, with no problem. They'd love you back home. You could have anything you wanted, practically. I had it all, except I lost it all, when I went to Spirea; then…I learned what I wanted was something else."

"Yuna?"

"I…I thought she was what I wanted…I love her…I am her guardian…she is pure, but I…I am just Tidus, a blitzball player turned guardian, warrior, protector. Maybe she was a teacher for me, you know, on how to be better, how to love with your heart & soul. I was a shallow, sniveling, spoiled snot before Yuna's pilgrimage."

"Christina? …So…what's your answer? Despite being from different worlds, how did you like me?"

"I…I liked, Tidus." Shyly: "Surfing feltgood with you. You understood. Want to surf again today? You can have your own board if you want!"

Tidus grins, shakes his gilt spikes out & and runs for the surfboard. The surfing that day was one that each tried to commit to the deepest part of their respective memories; Tidus planned on surfing back home & starting a new sport; Christina had never surfed in tandem, & she simply knew she'd never have a better partner than in Tidus – he didn't understand not everyone is so attuned to another body's movement. The sheer pleasure of moving as one through the roll of ocean waves was an experience that suited their souls well; they believed in living the experience, not creating it.For Tidus, the combined state of euphoria, presence and excitement was something familiar - his blitzball- He always wanted to return to this mental zone over and over again. He laughingly commented to Christina, "Once you realize that, to live any other way would seem completely insane!"

It was a good day for both of them; tired from the day of water play, they quietly shuffled up the beach with the board, past the tourists, past the local motion boys, whom made primal sounds in praise of the near incredible display of tandem surf riding earlier in the day. Tidus showed a certain degree of respectful, yet intimate treatment of Christina, starting the outdoor shower for her, smoothing her hair under the water flow, offering her the dry beach towel and so forth. It felt..different to Christina, who had become so very used to ignoring & being ignored by men. Tidus treated her like she was…valuable.

Back at the apartment, she checked messages on her PC, then went back to the artist's website to look at the pictures he had drawn of Tidus, softly sentimental for a moment. She had debated taking his photograph, but thought it might be dangerous to have; plus, a sketch looked much more elegant & refined, catching his character. She idly glanced at the images on the site & curious, she started reading the description of the game final fantasy….then slowly horrified, she realized that Tidus & Yuna's story ends with Tidus disappearing; a dying dream by the fayth. She was disconsolate at the thought of this young man, who so badly wanted to be real, just live, and love his Yuna. Her heart skipped a beat & began to crack – _Oh,no,nononono….I will be sending him back just to die; he deserves to live; he's so young…._But a flash of inspiration occurred. She realized Mori Honsu could change Tidus' fate…so she planned to ask, to beg or bribe if need be…she glanced around & stuffed her prize jade bowl in the travel backpack as a gift to sway his opinion. Then loaded her Sig Sauer semi-automatic with a high capacity magazine full of .45 ACP Match with an extra hot load of powder, just in case he wasn't swayed.

The evening took on a more somber mood as Christina became aware this could be Tidus' last night on Earth, or even his last night alive.

In a long forgotten act of femininity, she donned a skirt from her closet that evening for dinner; it was made from a sari, with a full skirt that touched the ground, sitting low on her hips, the brocaded & gemmed fabric winking in the candlelight of the living room. It enhanced her natural beauty no small amount & brought a youthful softness to her face that had been long missing; before she seemed as a keen sword blade, lean & elegant, yet so spare & dangerous. The soft folds of fabric swept over her, giving her step a seductive sway; she added jewelry, & with brushing, her hair began to take on a soft shimmer similar to Tidus' lambent mane.

Shrugging, she said: "Well, it may be your last night in this part of the universe. I thought we may as well make it a good one, Tidus- What do you want to do? "

Tidus' first thought was undress her & do last night all over again right then & there, but since they had not eaten yet, he asked: "I'd like to walk on the boardwalk path once more & eat where they cook the ocean creatures. The tuna fish tasted good to me."

The evening's dinner progressed at a leisurely rate, neither in a hurry, pleasantly stimulated by each other's company; the expectation of a sensual end to the night was already in the air, and Tidus chose to slow the pace from last night's explosion. He now knew his lover's body, his honed reflexes knew just where to touch, to stroke, to kiss the golden skin until she bloomed deep inside, giving him a deep sensual pleasure he craved, over & over again. In a newfound maturity, he wanted to savor her for as long as he could tonight –he might never see her again after tomorrow.

Somehow, it was damn fun sitting in a small bar, elbow to elbow with a strange crowd of humans in weird, limp, unprotective clothing, eating sea creatures with a lovely woman & laughing at the multitude of similar drinking behaviors & table manners, despite being from a world a universe away. The unknowns of tomorrow's trip to Mori Honsu were of little consequence at the moment; he would find a way off this water filled rock one way or the other. He came through a gate; therefore, a gate had to exist offworld. All it took was the right gatemaster – and clever Christina had found him a gatemaster in one day with her machina – no, machine. He wanted her; he wanted to take her back to Zanarkand with him, and be damned to what Yuna thought. He & Christina would make the ultimate team blitzball players…once he taught her how the stadia worked. She could teach surfing – _Wow, how well would THAT go over back home! _Contentedly, he leaned back, tilted his thimble of sake and shouted Kumpai with all the other patrons, for once not scared of the future, just rolling with it: Whatever life had to offer, he'd hang in there, & win, just like his old man, Jecht.

The next morning, Christina carefully packed a pair of backpacks, hiding a small armory in hers along with a 3 day bug out bag of survival gear for both of them, just in case. She stuck a memento of the planet Earth into Tidus' bag; it was a surfboard on a stylized wave, cunningly wrought in gold, inlaid with blue sapphires, white diamonds & opal to mimic the colors of the ocean; it was her own design she had kept stored in the bench from her long lost hobby of jewelry design.

Tidus was bemused by the change in clothing Christina donned that morning – it looked more like something off his world, long cargo pocket pants, a wide belt, simple tee, a pair of military eyeshades, her hair braided back, and some boots that looked like she could do some serious ass kicking in them. He was also bemused at the backpack of Earth gear for a world of magic, but was touched by her concern for him.

She turned on the PC & read thru the directions to Mori's house & plugged them into a Garmin map guide for the car. Somberly, she drove up the coast with Tidus, until 4 hours later, San Francisco bridge appeared over the bay. The house was on a hillside on the outskirts of town. She announced herself in the camera eye at the gate & slowly drove into the fortress Honsu.

Honsu was a younger man than expected, & true to Japanese stereotypes about inscrutability, he simply bowed & observed the living Tidus with a flat, calm face in his living area.

He began to speak with Tidus in Spirean, & after about an hours' discourse, they bowed & rose. Mori said gently to Christina: "Your friend is going home. I will give you time to say farewell."

"Honsu-san, may I please speak with you in private for a moment?"

Once they stepped into his office, Christina spilled it out: how she saw Tidus was returning to certain death; could Mori consider sending him elsewhere? Or in a different time?

Sadly, Mori looked at her in silence, eventually replying: " I cannot choose the place or time. The gate chooses. The traveller's desire guides, not I."

As they made their way down the slopes of the garden to the door of the gate, Christina became oddly suspicious of Mori; - _That ticket off-planet was waaaay too easy, Christy girl – He must have known we were coming; maybe he has one of those nasty things Tidus called Fayths as a buddy; whatever it is, I bet Mori will try to do something to Tidus. _She felt for the reassuring mass of her Sig Sauer semiautomatic tucked in her waistband & shook her leg a little to feel the diver's knife tucked into the boot & wondered for the 999th time why Tidus didn't immediately try to get any Earth-style weapons when he got here. She didn't understand the magic of Spirea at all. Or trust that it would work here.

The ozone charged air crackled around Tidus as he started to confidently stride forward into the gate, swinging his backpack in his hand, welcoming the blackness that would take him home. He never saw Mori coming, scuttling forward, pulling an oddly shaped massive sword that seemed to float light as air in Mori's hands; he ran forward sword raised, sweeping in an arc, attempting a decapitating stroke to the exposed neck of Tidus; suddenly Mori stumbled as Christina drew & fired the Sig Sauer, slamming a .45 caliber round into his shoulder, leaving Mori's sword to travel in a wavering arc down Tidus' bronzed back, unprotected by his blitzballer's uniform.

The searing agony hit him hard, & Tidus pitched forward on his knees into the blackness of the gate; he would arrive alive, but would die if he didn't get help as soon as he got through. Desperately, he yanked on the warrior chain at his neck & blindly threw it backwards with a scream of agony as cut muscle tried to engage. Obedient, the chain met flesh, wrapped itself around a limb & recoiled, snapping the body against his, and he thought the chain had done as he willed, it had reached the gatekeeper, garroting his traitorous neck. The summoners could take care of the rest of Mori's undead self.

A pair of arms flopped around him & a head dropped heavily on his shoulder. He opened his eyes & saw a slim pale gold wrist wrapped in chain pinned to his chest. Horrified, he screamed as went through the gate –a long, never-ending, raw, primal, rage-filled note of despair at knowing the true fruit of the tree of knowledge. Knowing the chain picked Christina for the killing stroke because it was already attuned to her.

He awoke to searing sunlight, burning white through his eyelids. He remembers the final fateful moments at the gate & begins to weep, tears trickling in the sandy beach of Besaid.

A hand moves on his chest. A muffled Earth accented voice rasps: "Tidhusss…Moob, dabbit."

His heart leaps, suddenly lifting clear up, as open as the bright blue sky above him. He is home. Christina is here, alive & kicking. He is home.

Ecstasy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two **

Hurrying footsteps came to his ears before Tidus blacked out: _I made it. I made it back to Spirea. Back to Yuna. _ He fell into blackness, knowing Spirean magic would heal him.

He awoke near sunset, after the summoners had worked the healing arts upon him. He was lying in a quiet room, open to the ocean air; the bed was draped in fine netting, giving his world a soft dreamlike focus on the view from the window.

Dara, the oldest summoner of the temple, was resting in a chair near his bed, quietly running a set of prayer beads in her hands. She spoke, her soft husky voice with its Besaid Isles accent comforting him: "We are so glad to see you here, and alive, Tidus-san; We have worked on your wound & it is nearly healed. Allow another 3 days of rest before taking on the world again, young man. Yuna herself has given her skills to healing you. She will come tomorrow."

"Dara, it is good to be home - I was so far away, in another place, a universe with a yellow sun & a place called Earth – I almost didn't make it here! The gatekeeper was corrupt, Dara – I'll need to talk to the head summoner. – How is the human? Is she badly hurt?"

Dara paused, seeing in Tidus' eyes hidden depths of emotion she did not see when he was with Yuna; trained as summoner, she also detected within the pitch of his voice, he was hiding something; neutral, truth seeking, she did as the temple training taught her: she sought the root cause, the full truth, in order to balance the cosmos.

"What have you done to concern yourself so with this human from another place? Are you responsible for her state? Is there a life-bond or a debt-bond between you two?"

Sighing, Tidus wearily admits: "She helped me get here. She was a..she called herself a good samaritan. She protected me from harm. There was an…accident at the gate, when the gatekeeper tried to take my head off. She came through & it was my fault."

"What caused her to go through the gate? How is it that you blame yourself? – reflect carefully, Guardian Tidus, so that I may help restore balance. If it is too much to speak of it, you can create a memory sphere. "

Tidus paused, mentally dragging his feet, then admits; " I used my father's chain maille to snare the gatekeeper, but it snared the human. I didn't want to bring her here! I didn't have to use the chain maille, I could have just gone through the gate, but I was injured & angry that I was betrayed by a gatekeeper." He kept silent about the chain being used once before, in another war of sorts between he & Christina. _She doesn't need to know that –_ he argued with himself – _it wasn't my wish to bring Christina here!_

_-Or was it? _His inner voice slyly prodded in return.

Dara serenely gazed, but wryly thought: _It was also your wish, guardian Tidus; the truth that is not spoken here is that your father's chain-maille did your bidding of your heart's desire, not your mind's desire. Finally, life will be interesting around here. Love is a sea, & one who hasn't swum in it will drown in its tides; it looks like you've just been thrown in, my young lovestruck man."_

Christina was awake the minute she & Tidus hit the ground on Spirea. The chain had dug into her wrist, leaving deep bruises & skin tears. She thought it was a nasty piece of work & puzzled over why Tidus whiplashed her to his back at the last second. She figured the chain was somehow a blind drone, simply seeking body heat or some stupid thing like that, since it had bit her once already.

Dismayed, she tried to understand Spirean & could only pick up a few basic words. It didn't seem hard, there was just no English to Spirean dictionary out there. The head summoner took pity on her & took her back into the depths of the temple library, where he sat her at an ancient console & dropped a mesh on her head after pounding the screen to life. It seemed to replay a whole book of sorts at full speed & he motioned for her sit back & mimicked sleeping. So she tried & somehow, the sounds made sense; she concluded she had been force fed the Spirean language arts basics & with a sigh, she started to ask questions.

The head summoner at first welcomed her, and for half a day was truly enjoying learning about Earth & Tidus' adventure in her home. However, he turned very cold once she started to share the contents of her backpack. She was haughtily informed that machina were forbidden, and the contents of her backpack were seized. She was treated as a criminal from that point onwards. She was confined to the temple & was under guard for most of the day. She asked for Tidus over & over again, & when he didn't come after 3 days, she crumpled after the door was shut & quietly wept. She was alone on a hostile planet. Her simple Earth gadgets, her Ipod, The Sig Sauer that saved Tidus from Mori, all gone; all confiscated & probably crushed to bits of useless metal & plastic. She was stuck on this water filled rock of a planet with people who were fanatically afraid of machines. As she lay there in the night, she came to the conclusion she would fight & die trying to leave, rather than meekly give in. She was a human from earth, the daughter of a solider, & be damned if she were going die while bowing & scraping to a fat man lording it over a bunch of backwater island bumpkins. She got up the next morning & began to practice everything she remembered about the art of combat; she did pushups, dips, pullups to strengthen her body. Exhausted she would simply drop & sleep, then wake, dip into the little pool of water allotted to her cleanliness & start all over. They seldom checked on her, just simply brought a meal a day & jug of water; but she knew someone watching her beyond the door, observing her like animal in a zoo.

She began to feel odd after 4 weeks of Spirean food & water. She'd lost weight, certainly, & her breasts stood out from her body like firm apples instead of the soft sagging pillows she had arrived with. Her waist was slimmer, & her abdominal muscles were beginning to pop when she looked down. But there was something else happening she couldn't put a finger on; she felt…different. She began to feel somewhat ill, & one morning her digestive track suddenly writhed & she convulsed, retching up matter & excreting at the same time. Miserable, she dragged herself to the pool & washed herself in stages, passing out after trying to rinse her hair of the filth that came out of her mouth. A day later, her skin began to slough & peel in patches; she could pullout handfuls of dry lifeless hair & despairing, she concluded Spirea was poisoning her, & the summoners were letting her die. Sheer stubbornness was the only thing keeping alive after two more days. The third night she lay under the stars too weak to get up & move; cognizant of her mortality, she asked to make peace with her God. She quietly closed her eyes, & simply talked out loud to god: _Abba, help me. help me die strong or bring me to life; you're in charge, no matter wherever or whenever I exist._ _Forgive my enemies, they don't know what they are doing to me. Forgive Tidus, his desertion of me; I was just a good Samaritan; there was no relationship or love to betray. Forgive him, please. I'm lonely; I wish I didn't have to die with strangers, but if it's your will, so be it. Please hold me in your hands, Abba. _

She drifted off into darkness.

White heat & the taste of dust in her mouth awoke her. She was lying face down in a small primitive arena, stone slabs sticking up like broken teeth against the ever so blue sky of Spirea. She rolled & she found she could sit up. In fact, she felt oddly..well. She looked down & knew she looked a fright. But she didn't care. She was alive & she was going to leave this place or die trying.

The voice of the head summoner, rich & deep, rolled in the arena like a cloud blotting out the perfect cobalt blue sky of Spirea:

"You are found guilty of breaking the laws of Yevon, the father. You have forfeited your right to life, as you are tainted with the evil of machinas. We will perform the sending to speed your way back to Earth & may Yevon set the hounds of the underworld to feed on your tainted soul."

_Oh yeah? _Christina sarcastically thought. She stood up. "Do I have the right to any last words, O master summoner?" she sweetly called out. He looked askance at the other summoners; they shrug & he grimly nods.

"Molon Labe!" She sneers; & feeling her oats, raises her hand in that clearly derisive universal human gesture we all know & love. _Of course, it was lost on these barbaric witch hunters! _she thought, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the moment.

Seated behind the head summoner on the north platform, Yuna turns to Tidus & says: "What does Molon Labe mean?" Tidus translates & briefly tells the tale of the Spartans behind it, just as the machina in Christina's apartment had said. "Well, she certainly is spirited – was she like this on her home planet?" Tidus turns red from shame, remembering his intense attraction & feeling like he has been made into a fool, he glares at the dusty, disgustingly dirty, taboo-breaker in the arena; the look wasn't lost on Christina, who measured him look for look with a feral expression. But inside, she was broken; she wanted to weep at the disgust in his eyes that had been full of fire for her, but she swallowed her tears, thinking: _Christy girl, don't even think you had a chance with him. We're done. Kill it._

She turns back to the line of summoners & guardians entering the arena; puzzled, she watches as the summoners take up their staffs & began to move in the circumscribed moves to summon & send while guardians watch over them with swords drawn to ensure the task is not interrupted. The thrum of power is felt more than heard; it builds quickly, charging the atmosphere with ozone & static; crackling balls of energy are growing in their hands, & the crowd of temple dwellers are moaning over the scene in excitement; on cue they all zero in on Christina & swiftly pitch the spheres of energy, now fanning out into wide flat discs directly at Christina. She stands bravely as the crackle of energy hits her from 3 directions; a massive flare blinds them & then all is quiet.

Christina is still standing, somewhat puzzled, looking at her hands, then behind her & suddenly, it hits her. It's energy all right, _biologically_ created energy, and she's NOT Spirean- she's a different biologic structure. Delighted, she realizes the energy just grounded on her. She didn't see the incredible colored protective Aeons the Spireans saw, because they were illusion, magic. Christina's world had no magic. She saw only bio-energy hurled at her.

She turns to the head summoner & cocks an eyebrow. "Is _that _the best you can do?" she sarcastically asks, enjoying the sight of all eyes on her, untouched by 3 summoner's aeons.

Shocked & angry, Yuna strides forward & calls "Let me, master!" Christina looks over, seeing the delicate tropical flower of a woman that Tidus loves, & sighs as he runs forward, sword in his hand, her guardian. His face is cruel, eyes like flashing blue crystal daggers of death, cold as ice.

Yuna begins her ritual of summoning & Christina starts to move, pacing, soon jogging around the arena, looking for a way out, a weakness, a weapon, anything to stop what's coming next after they see the 2nd summoning fail - a good old-fashioned lynching. She picks up a dropped sword from a young guardian who ran at the sight of an earth creature still standing after a triple blast of Aeons from three of the best summoners in the temple. The arena pit has exits, the eastern section is barely populated, she can make it, maybe. The crowd screams as Yuna draws up her mightiest weapon, her personal Aeon, a great winged creature; but all Christina sees is a ball of crackling reddish light expanding to a sparkling disc & spun at her; the great force created a wind in the small space & again, the ball hits with a blinding flare & fades to black.

Christina still stands. A deep rage settles in Christina; she is tired of this world, this ridiculous magic, & she begins to run at Yuna, sword in hand. Tidus moves into a defensive position, sword raised, but Christina nimbly runs halfway up the sloping arena wall & brings her sword down on his with her full weight, breaking the blade off at the hilt; she kicks him down, & savagely whirls her sword up in the falcon position above her head, then swings it down to Yuna's neck in an elegant, yet lethal decaptitation stroke.

The sword almost magically stops dead with the tightening of Christina's wrists; the blade edge breaks the skin slightly at the neck, a pale red stain of blood running down Yuna's china porcelain skin. She watches in shock that her aeon has failed her & her guardian has failed her.

Shaking with anger, derisive, Christina screams: "Primitive! Limited! I LIVE! And do you know why? Your magic doesn't exist for me! It's all just science! You see aeons, mighty saviors, & I see nothing but silly, useless balls of sparks!"

"You have been so unjust to me! And just for coming from a world that uses machines that run on energy, and not magic! You disgust me no end! I did not even want to come here to this godforsaken rock! But this one, this fool named Tidus ( the name spat out like a bad taste, furiously kicking sand in his direction) HE pulls me through the gate, without my consent! Do know what that's called!? Do you?! Abduction! _Alien_ Abduction at that! You have broken every law & protocol about treating prisoners on my world & let me tell you, you are going to pay for that! Imagine a whole world of people who are immune to the magic of this goddamned backwater of a mudball coming here to get me! I am from EARTH, a citizen of the United States of America, the daughter of a goddamned Marine & I enact the laws of the Geneva Convention! As a prisoner, I demand a fair trial for whatever crimes you think I've committed!"

She throws the sword down in disgust & says: "Extradite me, you dumb bastards! Send me home to stand trial! I am going HOME. NOW. "

Suddenly drained & careless, she wearily walks forward & tries to open the east exit gate. It resists; she begins to kick & punch at it; unsuccessful in opening a rusted old gate, tears rise to her eyes. Her hands are gently caught by Dara, the oldest summoner, who disengages them from the locked gate with delicacy & she places her arm around the silent human with tears leaking from turquoise red rimmed eyes. "Forgive me" Dara softly asks. She slowly walks the weary woman out of the arena pit, Her eyes hooded as she passes by everyone – the 200-odd temple dwellers, Tidus, Yuna, the 3 summoners, 2 guardians, then the head summoner, who she fixes with an enigmatic stare of amusement.

And thus, Dara bore off with her prize, a creature from Earth, immune to Spirea's most powerful magic. _What a weapon you are_; _What fine metal you are made of_; she amusedly thought; _no wonder Tidus clung to her. She doesn't know her own strength. Perhaps I will teach this Earth creature about strength._

Dara serenely awaited the head summoner's arrival while Christina slept, quietly passing the time with devotional reflection of her prayer beads clicking in her hands, turning them, as timelines, events, truths & truths within truths passed by in her mind. He arrived within two hours, and after gazing at the sleeping form in the bed, indecision in his face, he sat heavily on a bench by the window. The man took off his headdress, ran hands through his hair & distraught, says with his usual staccato brevity: "Yevon, I've misjudged her. What a guardian she'd have made. Did you see the move she put on Tidus? The blade, snapped right through to the hilt. When she wakes I will atone. I must set the example here, yes? But I think we should keep the machinas hidden until she finds a way home. Exelion contacted the Luca Temple & the gate is closed. Who knows when it will open again. How do I tell her she can't go home? "

And so, the change in the Besaidan temple attitude started when she awoke. She came to in a quiet room, open to the ocean, with none but Dara to keep her company. She found Dara restful & genuine; she held back nothing when Dara gently proceeded with her temple-trained root cause analysis; Christina felt the woman could make any problem a solvable riddle when she talked with her in the long lonely afternoon.

The summoners were devastated; they sat in the great council room of the temple that evening, puzzled & dejected as they tried to justify what they had seen & heard against their now shaken beliefs. Yuna was deeply ashamed, and in a fit of despair, she cried she would quit the summoning priesthood. In the silence, old Dara stepped forward & clearly rang out: "No, Yuna, you shall not."

"But..I could not defend us! My Aeon failed!" _…And my guardian failed… _She thought.

"No, Yuna you did NOT fail! We in the temple, we all saw the Aeon! – Did it ever occur to you that the cosmos is made up of more than one kind of substance? That there may be more than one pattern? The human said the Aeons were "energy", then were "sparks" – so does it not stand to reason that she may be just simply made of different material than us Spireans? Perhaps we are simply connected to the cosmos differently than her race of earth-people?"

"She - the human- she believes in a higher power, like us! I heard her pray the night before the sending. Does evil pray to forgive its enemies? She did! She is not evil. She is just a kind of traveler we have never seen before."

The head summoner interjected: "Dara, I never doubt my temple in truths, but…do you have…proof?"

Dara nods & brings forward her memory sphere that she had created when she was set to guard the human after arrest. When the sphere ceased its whirling, the summoners were as stone; some were seen with silver tracks of tears running down their faces. They were witness to the fear & confusion of the human; they felt the isolation, the homesickness, underlaid by the sting of desertion by the only friend she thought she had here. Her thoughts on her body dying slowly, poisoned by Spirea affected them on many levels.

Too late, they had seen the nature of the human, her dignity of her being illustrated in her last prayer to the infinite; they saw also that there was truth to what Dara had said – she was simply a traveller who was made differently than they were; their own bias of non-magic had blinded them.

The head summoner decreed that the temple would atone with the ritual of reflection & stated any acts of forgiveness could be done at will, until it was time for the annual barraz for Besaid. Dara wisely suggested that the human stay on the temple grounds & that she be invited to discourse daily on her planet, & the nature of "energy" – they could also teach her about their beliefs, their planet – after all, she'd make a formidable guardian, yes?

Several summoners began to brighten at the thought of a new discourse, some snickering at the thought of the memory of the guardians, some running away, some foolishly standing there mouth agape as a fish, a certain one with a sword broken at the hilt by a skinny dirty Earthling; and so, mood lightened, a course of action was decided.

In the time that the summoners debated Christina's future on Besaid, Christina had slept deeply & woke up oddly weak & ravenous. She was covered in powdery grit from the summoner's petite arena & it made the peeling skin look like she was the walking dead. Carefully, she sat up & zeroed in on a basin of water on a table. Once there, she clumsily knocked it, spilling water everywhere, her tattered clothes now a stinking sodden mess. She began to cry as a novice came running in at the sound of the breaking basin. The novice, taking pity, gently led her to a hot spring on the temple grounds, wound in an old cloak with a hood to deter curiosity. The warm currents of volcanic-warmed water moved at a good rate, so dirt & grime were soon stripped away & the soothing warmth had its healing effect on Christina's psyche.

The novice stayed, and shyly handed her a dish of soft oil mixed with sea salt, scented with the novice's own blend of plant oils. The fresh clean woody scent invigorated Christina & as she relaxed into a small smile at the memory of pine trees, the novice was encouraged. She saw the smile as a crack in Christina's mental armor; and then, preening a little at the human's obvious enjoyment of her custom blended scent, she began to help Christina scrub away the filth of the arena. A good twenty minutes later, the novice sat back on her heels & preened herself a little more as her work had uncovered a jewel of Yevon under the dirt & dead skin: a supple, long limbed body, glowing golden, faintly reddened by the vigorous scrubbing; thick ropes of hair, streaked deep honey amber where still wet, golden Benedictine where dry, and two aqua jewels of eyes set in a face that bespoke of high-blood, but had an alien cast that also bespoke of a sensual amusement at the world. The novice pointed at her reflection in the water & Christina leaned forward to look; she saw herself, but changed – with a shock, she appeared to have slid backward in time, to age 20, but with eyes of her 35 year old self peering out under outrageously long, lush lashes. It was her, just more so, brought to optimal health & beauty.

_This planet has changed me – the sickness, it must have been metamorphosis, not dying…whatever has happened, I know am changed at a level beyond the surface. How do I ask about what is happening to me? What will I change into? What if I can't leave Spirea? Will I be a monster, like one of those horrible sci-fi movies I watched back home? Ohhhh, Christy girl, get a grip – you're living in a sci-fi film right now. Deal with it. _

Christy continued to reflect on her physical changes as the novice clad her in a soft tunic & loose pants with a long veil about her face to hide her alien-ness from the casual observer on the temple grounds. It was made in a plan white fabric, but the veil was sewn with thousands of minute sparkling crystal beads in a water pattern. Neither material or beads were expensive, but the hours spent making it justified its value.

Christina was handed over to Dara, who escorted her to the council room of the temple, where the summoners were gathered to express their atonement. Dara was secretly delighted as the novice at the image of loveliness that was about to be presented to the Besaid Islanders.

Christina's golden skin was set off by the whiteness & her ocean aqua blue eyes were a revelation beneath the veil. Indeed, when Dara drew off the veil & let it fall carefully into sculpted folds on her shoulders, more than one man thought her eyes were enough to slay a man with desire. It was a shock to see her so close; they wondered if some illusion had been summoned about her; they couldn't believe that the water goddess-like creature sitting in front of them was the same dusty, insane, derisive devil-creature of the arena.

She stood quietly before the council table & each summoner approached, saluting her with the formal half bow & the peculiar gesture of two hands clasped one above the other at the solar plexus. Each of the 24 summoners & their guardians formally asked forgiveness of her; some even improvised some small statement or personal thought to comfort her. The head summoner was last, and in a kingly manner, he took both of her hands & stated his flock would do all they could to improve relations between the two worlds; she was formally invited to stay at the temple until a gate off world could be found to take her home. In the time in between, he invited her to study the Besaid Isles & hopefully, would be open to discoursing about the planet Earth. He then signed documents that formally cleared her of any taboo breaking with machinas, easing the atmosphere in the great council room.

Christina took a formal tact in responding, conscious she was an ambassador of Earth & simply said:

"We have much to learn of each other – please let us be peaceful with each other from this day forward. I hold no grudge in myself against Spirea after these heartfelt words all have offered in mutual trust." _Except for you, Tidus, _ She thought. Her chin lifted a little higher as she performed a graceful Namaste.

_Just once. _Tidus suddenly thought, & he whitened under his Besaidan bronze as she was looking straight at him with her eyebrow sardonically cocked at the mutual memory of how he gauchely ran through 3 protocols in another place, another time.

Yuna approached Christina again the next morning with Tidus, & she began a formal apology, faltering as tears rose to her eyes at the memory of her unfounded judgements she had made based on her fears. Christina quietly listened, not wishing to reduce the girl's dignity, but could not help herself as Yuna tried to bow, shaking hands missing each other as she tried to perform the peculiar one hand above the other clasp. Christina strode forward, gently taking the trembling porcelain hands & simply held them for a moment to calm her. Yuna, pleased at the formal intimacy offered, also formally went ahead with her act of atonement & offered her Tidus to be her guardian while a guest here; after a pause, Christina carefully replied: "You would have me receive your guardian's loving acts of protection? That is not something that can be given; it is only earned, Yuna-san. I would elect that Tidus-san remain as yours, as he is…yours. – He often spoke of you while on Earth & it would be wrong of me to accept such a magnificent gift, because, simply said, – I haven't earned it."

"Your quality of soul is now known to me & I hope we will become as friends. I acknowledge your extraordinary gift to me, and humbly I must refuse it – it is simply too great for a simple Earth girl like me." Gently embracing her, she whispered: "Come see me someday soon, pretty jewel of Yevon. I need all the friends I can get here."

Yuna walks back to Tidus; now light as bird in the sky & freed of her burden of debt to Christina, she gently pushes Tidus forward.

Tidus also follows protocol with the half bow & peculiar hand clasp. He looks for the awesome blinding white sudden smile, cool as an amused water goddess, but it is not to be found. _Yevon, she stirs me still! What has happened? She is changed! Spirea must agree, or it is working its magic upon her very flesh. Excelion is right, her eyes would slay a man with desire._ He gathers his thoughts to the task at hand & begins: "Christina, how can you ever forgive me, how can I – "

She cuts him short, breaking protocol, flatly stating: "I don't."

Openmouthed, he stops, then begins again, with all the sincerity he can muster in his voice: "Christina, I humbly apologize, please forgive me my-"

"Tidus, are you deaf? Or just stupid? I don't. I don't forgive you."

"Why?"

"Human hearts don't work that way. You could have stopped all this drama & angst with some simple truths about what your experience on Earth was like, but you did not. You pulled me here, & left me to rot in a temple cell & let me be executed, Spirean style. Is this how you reward your friendships? I wouldn't wish what you did on my worst enemy, Tidus. So take your pleas for forgiveness to your Yevon, not me, today."

She bows to Yuna with another graceful namaste, now supple as a young reed muscles rippling at the narrow waist that made Tidus inwardly warm with desire; with a formal parting phrase, she adds: "Lady Yuna, you are a welcome guest at my door any day, but please, kindly leave this guardian at the door." The sparkling white water goddess smile appears, directed at Yuna, & she feels its warmth of spirit & wishes to bask in it, no matter how vicarious it felt. Bowing with every step, Yuna backs out the door, dragging Tidus the unwelcome.

At a final glance upwards from her last delicate bow, Yuna glimpses Christina's fading smile in a transformed face of sadness as she pulls her water goddess veil over her face, the beads sparkling like water drops from her sacred well. _What was that really about? What did she mean about human hearts? What truth is Tidus hiding?_

Lady Yuna wisely held her tongue on the road back to her house & simply avoided any mention of the now- wonderful human and her intriguing ways & protocols. She saw Tidus restless, unable to concentrate; she quietly held his hand as they walked along the beach at sunset & delicately caressing his handsome face, she laughed & lightly spoke, hiding her advisement within a task for him: "Old Dara seems to have taken over the task of managing the human; I think I'll invite this Christina for tea soon; she seems to understand something about the delicacy of protocol & might enjoy learning the tea protocol, Tidus. Will you kindly stop in at the temple & see Dara about it tonight? She might know how to best approach the human about many matters. I always went to her for advice when I was a novice."

Satisfied at having handled the problem of Tidus' hurt pride neatly, without him ever having to realize it, she smiled up at him, a delicate blossom swaying in the wind. Tidus softened at once, chastely kissed her hand, & ran to do her task, leaving Yuna to walk back to her house, light as a feather, segueing into a little dance every now and again in the soft evening in honor of her cleverness.

Tidus, having delivered his message, was sitting with Dara in the soft evening, pouring out his version of the events like a bottle of intoxicant spilling across the table. Secretly amused, she pretended she did not see the obvious attraction that had happened between the Christina & Tidus, pushing her truth seeking root cause questions at him until he saw he was hiding truths; then he caved in & told her all of it, from the moment of rescue from the water creature to the sting of knowing his act of atonement had been refused. With a witness. Dara was going to enjoy herself; she hadn't seen anything as complex & passionate like this since Shuyin & Lenne's legend & she knew her part; now, all she had to do is direct the future legends in their roles….she suspected Christina was far more in tune with what was happening than Tidus, so she started with him:

"You young fool of a man, I should have thrown you back in the gate once you came through. Who else has done for you that the human has done? You think all is over between you & she? No,it is just begun. The why, the _truth_, behind her refusal is simple; & the way back to her is also simple; hear me out, Guardian Tidus."

"Christina-human is far from indifferent to you; everything she has done was for love of you & for her own survival as the only species of her kind on Spirea. Think of how it must feel, to be thrust into a strange land without it being her choice – did you not go through the same experience? And were you treated by her like an enemy? Yevon, No! she treated you as an equal species, yes?"

"She also was thrust into ways far different than her Earth – imagine being in a world of no magic all of your life, then being hurled into a world that runs on magic; then the one friend she has, the one she breathes for, turns away from her. She thought she was alone, surrounded by enemies, & did as any warrior would have – defended herself – yet, she held back, she could have killed Yuna! She chose the lesser – she told me her warrior arts laws, which start with: "Do not kill when you can maim!" Is that the action of a barbaric race, a lower life form? She held back because she knew you loved Yuna. Here is a bond greater than debt-bond or life-bond here; it is more akin to soul-bond, and you have attempted to sever that, Tidus-san."

See him blanch under the weight of her words, she waits for him to recover, then ruthlessly continues: "I tell you, the root cause is simple: _You_ turned on her, sent her away from you & made her wait; now, it is _your_turn to be turned upon, sent away, & to wait. "

"Remember, there is a way forward, without the angst of repercussion or years of atonement, if you can humble yourself to it. Court her. As the lover. If your heart is true, hers will also ring with the same note. Do it secretly. Worry not over Yuna, or your friends. I will be the go-between, the conduit. Express love for her in everything you do for her. Do not hammer down the door with kicks & blows; it will stay firmly shut! Prevail upon her woman's nature - excite her curiosity. Invite her to open the door & see what is outside. Then walk in, guardian Tidus."

Tidus stares at her, wondering where to start – he thought of a world of gifts & favors he had received to court him in past days when he was a simple blitzballer in Zanarkand, but none seemed like the right thing to offer; so he sighed & asked Dara: "I have no idea what to offer as the first parry – what do you suggest?"

Dara smiles serenely. " She is a creature of water, yes? What flowers in the water, guardian Tidus?"

The next morning, Christina wakes to the sweet scent of a kymara – a common water-bloom, with an intoxicating scent & tight, bell shape of soft spiked petals in rose or white, opening to a heart of intense purple-blue. It was ancient plant with an equally ancient folk tale: it was the flower of the water goddess, created by the god Oceanus when she was being courted by both Oceanus & Helios, god of the sun. Oceanus created it so she would be reminded that his eyes, the same deep purple blue of the ocean depths would always be upon her. It sat there, by her bed, in a simple dish of water, filling the room with its heady fragrance; Dara dressed her hair & gently placed the flower in her loose knot at the back of her neck, leaving the bloom to shyly peep out from the loose tresses against her neck. The distinctive scent clung to her throughout the day, & the people occupying her time all leaned forward appreciatively to inhale the seductive nectar-like scent as she drew near. She noticed Tidus glanced up at her under his dark lashes & something in his glance belied his formal guardian's greeting, underlaid with the formal, bland murmur of "Kymara- the flower of the water goddess" told her it wasn't coincidence. Distracted, she plucked it from her hair & began to examine the blossom. She found herself comparing the blue inner petals to his eye color & blushed, remembering her comparison to the cobalt hue of the heart of the flame once. She came back to the present, & surreptitiously looked around, hoping no one noticed her idleness; her blush returned when Tidus imperceptibly lowered his outrageous lashes & glanced through them again with the same appreciative expression. He said nothing further, nor approached her, leaving her wondering, _What was that about_?

Kymara blooms began to show up in unexpected times & places from that point on. By her documents at the great gathering table the temple council met at; in her bath; on the stone statue in the garden where she walked every day; in her head-garland during a formal dinner; even once on her pillow, fresh with the dawn's dew. It continued until the people expected to see her with a kymara bloom about her.

One day, at a blitzball game, Tidus stepped out into the proclamation pre-game show; he never did the age old habit of carrying someone's favor or dedicating moves, shots, or wins to anyone, citing it was a game, too many unknowns & he didn't want to ever disappoint. He charmingly announced he was dedicating his game in gratitude to the good Samaritan, whom he never thanked properly for bringing him back to Spirea; then after a stunning, brilliantly played game, swam up & boldly threw her a kymara from the winner's garland. The crowd was charmed by the gesture & being used to seeing the lady Christina with a kymara about her, they began to take it as a symbol of her.

They were paired by each other at a dinner feast that night, & he casually asked: "How like you the kymara, lady?" Her blush was evidence enough to Tidus that he had won the first move.

The rest of evening she kept her distance, but oh, how her eyes would steal glimpses of their own accord at him, lit by the flickering flames of torches during the feast.

There were singers that night, all chanting exquisite verses about love & one came up, garlanded in kymara around his youthful gilt head; he was a honey skinned blonde with a pure silver tenor that entranced everyone. He sang just six lines:

_There is an hour, at twilight, too heavy with memory._

_There is a flower that I fear, for your hair has its fragrance._

_I squandered a treasure, & its hope & its promise, until I came to my senses _

_Before you wandered, careless, away from my useless passion._

_But what is the use of my speech, since I know of no words to recall you?_

_I am praying that Time may teach, you, your Cruelty, me, Forgetfulness._

He was given much acclaim, & though they attempted to persuade him whom wrote the lovely lyrics, he would not tell, saying he did not know the donor, only the color of his metal.

Christina, restless after the feast, lay there along time in the dark, turning the words over & over in her mind; bemused, she rose from her bed, & left her room to walk under the stars by the ocean. She wanted so badly to surf, but had no board. The Spirean surf was lovely at night, phosphorescence lit the waves at certain times of the month, the water was warm as milk, & no predators roamed the water in Besaid. She shrugged off an old summoner's tunic & dove in. She swam hard, bodysurfing the crest sof the smaller waves to tire herself out, so she wouldn't keep turning back to Tidus, his eyes tonight, the song, Tidus' eyes during the execution summoning…._Stop thinking Christy girl…no mind...too much mind, just move, & breathe._

After scrambling back into her tunic on shore, she looked out over the water, homesick, longing for her surfboard; a dark shape was off to the right in the surf, near the point where the old statue of Oceanus stood with his water goddess, weathered by centuries of waves. The dark shape took the form of a man, phosphorescent water running off his nude body. The shadow-man pulled on clothing & turning, squatted to watch the night surf. He paused when he turned to Christina on the shore, then slowly turned as if he didn't see her. The shadow man then melted into the shadows of the statue, leaving Christina blinking, wondering if what she saw was real or dream.

5 days later, after the discourse of the day at the temple was done & they sat idly socializing at the great table, a pounding shook the meeting room door. A voice screams: " SURF'S UP!"

Christina, forgetful of her surroundings, simply jumps up & runs for the door before thinking; the people grin or laugh at her trained reaction; slyly, they nudge each other whispering with smiles & nods. "Open the door, Lady" one calls. She opens it, and propped up on a wall, a surfboard leans. It was carved from a piece of bolsa tree, grained regular as honeycomb, its sap an oily water repellant, used for docking piers & perfect for a surfboard. Of course, the fins were positioned wrong, the shape wasn't quite centered, it was painted all over with primitive water designs, which would peel off in the salt water within days: Spireans love paint & gilt, & this gift was no exception to the rule. but …it WAS a surfboard!

Christina's heart suddenly melts, Tears come to her eyes at the thoughtful gift & she turns, saying "Who – who do I thank for this gift?"

Several voices chimed in to eagerly inform her it was a gift from the temple; she wondered how on earth they could have come up with a surfboard without seeing one, then she remembered the memento of earth she had stuffed in Tidus' backpack – the tiny gilt surfboard on waves. Her psyche took wings at the thought that he, Tidus, had secretly done this for her. For the past 3 months she was breathing mud; _Now, I can breathe again_, she exultantly thought. It was like he had read her innermost heart, which was swelling with a wicked joy with the thought: _He wants to surf-with me, not Yuna._

Tidus' head was noticeable only by the absolute stillness in which held himself, so carefully turned away from her, lightly conversing with a dark robed acolyte. After a moment, he looks up & over in a casualness that did not match the state of his mind. He finally sees a glimpse of the Christina held in his heart finally surface from under the polished armor of a steely warrior-ambassador. Suddenly her blinding white on gold smile appears, bringing a wellspring of refreshing happiness to the room; she bows deeply, then pulling her skirts up, she picked up the board & merrily ran out the door with it to the beach. She wasted no time stripping down, improvising a coverup that left her free to move in the water & hit the waves. Curious, knots of people gathered on the shore to watch Spirea's first surfer take a set of waves; they acted as a crowd should, cheering when a ride was successful, groaning when a 16 footer sucked her under. When she finally came ashore, it was near sunset & few people were left observing her. Her eyes were drawn to the ancient Oceanus statue seaside, but the gilt head she looked for was absent.

Sighing, she propped her board up & watched the sun lower in the sky, warming her chilled limbs. Another beautiful set of waves were coming in, & she couldn't resist the pull of the ocean, diving back in for one more ride before sunset. She paddled out, & took the drop on the third wave; the board thumps & rattles; shaken, she fears she has hit an outcropping, or the badly placed fins broke; but no, two bronze hands steady her & she realizes someone has jumped on her wave with her. Tidus adjusts to every move as they drop into the rolling tube of water, & like a memory, places his hand by hers, trailing in the wall of water, until they come out of the tube; with a splash, he dives off, a dark shape in the water, receding. She squinted against the sun & saw his silhouette against the sunset, climbing out of the water by the oceanus statue.

Silently she rides the board to shore, never realizing she was mouthing the silent words: thank you, oh thankyouthankyouthankyou….Tidus, thank you…I can breathe again...I can live here & bear it…thank you…

A delicate scrap of paper found its way onto a stem of kymara the next morning:

_When you breathe on the ocean, I breathe with you_

Suddenly exultant, her mood bounded. She smiled, her step was lighter, & she nearly ran to her bath house that afternoon to prepare for the Besaid social event of the year – an old-fashioned Besaid Barraz.

The barraz was in full swing by the time she arrived; a mass of bodies were stamping & twirling to drums, intoxicants were being passed around with abandon; she was immediately handed a cup & she had to swallow it down, and another two were thrust at her; it was custom to toast three times when entering the barraz. Throat burning, senses escalating, she moved into the party.

It seemed everyone was riotously drunk & on acid all at the same time; this night & the next three, everything was acceptable, nothing was forbidden; it was a festival to remark the end of the season of reflection, as it was called; now, they said, the gods called out for them to enjoy the fruits of the world they had created for their pleasure; and the gods would feed upon the pleasure the people had in the things created for them, so it was a must to laugh, to dance, to eat, enjoy a thousand things, to ensure the year was happy & prosperous, all debts & discord were forgiven to bless the coming season of growth.

There were odd couplings, people who were in disagreement the day before were hanging on each others' arms & singing songs together; the shy plain washer-girl, the one with a limp, was being lifted in dance by the gorgeous goalkeeper of the blitzball team, both sparkling with love for each other; a mature summoner, rumored to be over 200 years old was being fed honeyed nuts by a saucy barwench of a bare 15 years; she glimpsed lovely Yuna absolutely smashed, eyes dreamy, as she was twirling in the dancing mass under the torches, close to the drums. She was spun in & soon was twirling with Yuna; surprisingly, Yuna pulled her close, then poured in another toast of strong drink; Christina, now on her way to being fairly smashed herself, poured one in hers; Yuna began to dance in the old way, a silent invitation to join with her & she did, careless what anyone thought. Yuna murmured drunkenly in her ear she wanted to make love to her, she was like the sun & she, Yuna was her moon…Christina thought, _Hell, why not? _& and decided she was going to kiss her, But the mass of people had them pulled apart & were carrying them on their shoulders, like the wedding feast dance. More cups were thrust at her & she drank; looking for Yuna, she saw her off in the distance, now being carried off into a tent of food by a pair of huge temple guards who normally followed Yuna every day. She felt lifted from shoulder to shoulder, they were screaming for her to dance, to drink again; Laughing, she pats the shoulders to let her down. Sliding in a swirl of silk to the unsteady ground she is clasped against a warm bronze body with gilt hair, wildy spiked. "How wasted are you?" Tidus asks in her ear. "Pretty drunk so far!" she manages past the sudden lump in her throat. "Then that's NOT drunk enough!" he laughs. He pulls her through the crowd & finds the cask of the really strong stuff, the blitzball of intoxicants, the drink only known as the black. It was actually distilled 5 times until pure & clear as water, but so potent you simply saw black after drinking three cups.

Tidus held out his hand for a cup, was handed one & theatrically brings it up high, screaming it was the human's first taste of the black; he slowly brings it to her mouth & quietly says to her ears alone: "Drink quickly, its the fumes that intoxicate, not the liquid." She takes it in, gulping as quickly as she can, foolishly sucking in air after each swallow & gets hit with a bounce to her reality; eyes swimming, senses reeling, she gasps; everyone around her roars approval & then is immediately followed by cries of _Another!_ Tidus is handed another cup, and again he tilts it down her throat for her; she drunkenly sways as the second imbibement hits her bloodstream, the crowd moans in consternation, then cheers as she holds her cup up & she slurs "One more, you blitzballing son of a bitch!" Tidus eyebrows raise, and the cup is passed once more; she tilts the 3rd cup down herself, & they all wait to see if she passes to black; Christina relaxed her throat to let the libation slide down like a shot of old fashioned Earth Rum & for a few dangerous moments, she sees stars as a rush of warmth fills her bloodstream, spilling the black through her body. She fought for control, & got it. She upends the cup, firmly slaps it down on the cask in a victory salute & turns to an incredulous crowd: "Weeellll now, master guardian Tidus, that's how Earth girls drink! Can't ya'll keep up with us or what?"

The crowd roars & they all start to crowd the cask again to get their cup of the black. Tidus loudly states: "But Lady Christina, I 'm in training!" Prompting more laughter; He pulls her closer & quietly starts moving her through the crowd; she dreamily notes this & with a quizzical drunken look, comments: "You're not as drunk as you appear, guardian Tidus!"

"You're right!" he grins; "You can pour all the black you want down my throat tomorrow night, but not tonight, my sea goddess."

"Is there more barraz this way?" She sees the landscape is less populated, more open spaces.

Quietly he laughs & comments: "No, but we can go back if you really want to; I thought it was time we ended our season of reflection the right way. See? Here is the temple."

The temple is deserted, all are away at the barraz. Tidus found the back chamber, the one with the blue lamps outside the door, just as Dara had quietly told him would be there. She had set the scene well; the chamber was lit with a soft multitude of candles & torches, reflected in the small pool of volcanically heated ocean water before the low altar, which was left as is from the morning devotional, a wealth of wilted kymara flower petals tumbling down before the statue of Oceanus.

As she stared at the statute of Oceanus in this chamber, she saw the god was beautifully modeled in the likeness of a young man; & remembered Tidus striding out of the sea at night, nude as the statue before her. She was curious as a cat about the recent kindnesses to her & thought: _Christy girl, just forgive & let it go, that's what this festival is about, to remind Besaid to let go of anger & I've been pretty angry._ She turned to Tidus, intending to apologize for the way she had turned away his well meant advances of friendship. She stopped dead at the sight of Tidus, looking over at her as he finished stepping out of his clothes.

For the third time in her life, she felt that invisible push of power in the room & this time, she stood up to it & said to herself, _Let it come. Come, Tidus. I can take it. Give me all you've got. Let's see how the Spireans really get their freak on._

Silently, he stood before her, his eyes questioning; she gave an imperceptible nod, & let the evening unfold. Tidus began by gently placing his hands on her shoulders. A rush of warm wetness rolled down her thighs; he inhaled sharply, as if he could smell the surge of emotion swelling in her, then swiftly slid his hands under her arms, picked her up off the floor & stepping closer, he lowered her in a fluid move down, down, his smooth torso until flesh met flesh that was hot, dry & throbbing. He shifted his weight & gently but firmly thrusted until he was in her, buried to the hilt; her legs rose up with the change in altitude & wrapped around his waist; he simply caught her under a thigh, and walked over to the low altar, stepped up on it & sank down to his knees.

She was laid back gently onto the altar, her hips resting on his thighs as he knelt there, as in seiza. He was relaxed now, a glimpse of the confident man emerging from the guardian-boy she saw every day. He quietly enjoyed the view of her lying across his thighs, beautifully exposed from the waist down, the skin stretching like satin over her pelvic girdle; the wrapped fabric of the dress was simply pulled away slowly, exposing the carved torso with its slim waist & high firm breasts. His right hand began to travel over her body, appreciative of the dip in her collarbone & the tautness of her core, before dipping down further between her legs. His thumb began to softly stroke & circle as he imperceptibly began to move in a rhythm old as time inside her.

And so the Spirean-human journey through the traditional Temple five gates of ecstasy began between Tidus & Christina; the first was joined in a face to face copulation, Tidus sinking deeper & harder with every stroke in, letting her know without a doubt this is what he enjoyed; The second & third gates were the breasts, teasing each into a searing white hot peak until she sank her teeth into her hand to keep from screaming. The fourth gate was a fierce exercise in the second position of copulation, where Tidus took the position of the vanquishing warrior; The fifth gate was the mouth & the kisses be bestowed upon her were indescribably sweet, deep, & underlaid with a sensual abandon that brought her to another explosion of passion; as Tidus ended the journey with the traditional touching of her hands to his forehead & heart, she began to ask: " Tidus, what…what about your pleasure? How can I…?"

He cut her off with a kiss, and quietly said, "No, this night is for your pleasure; whatever it takes to please a woman, it will be given to me threefold in return, when I ask for it. That's what we all get taught in the temple - that's what I know, & it's true."

He softly laughs: " I have this feeling you'll be like drinking the black, earth girl…"

He tenderly stroked her cheek with a finger & lowered himself for one more kiss; she pulled him to her, with sudden strength. This brought a sharp white hot spike of pleasure in his brain & the air took on a haze as the bubble of power hummed & tightened, rose in a subsonic pitch until a crackle in the air sparked a jump of static electricity, as their hands met to intertwine & clasp. The spark ran down in the altar & a subtle flicker ran over the temple walls.

Amazed, they both saw the energy crackle across the spiral carvings & disappear into the walls, leaving with a dim blue flare & the smell of burnt ozone. Equally amazed , they realized they had just done something incredibly satisfying; Sticky & covered in kymara petals, they climbed into the sacred hot spring & soaked away the remaining intoxicants in their systems, until the bell rang for midnight in the town. He quietly got up to go, slowly pulling on clothes, dragging out the moments of time with her. Silently, hand in hand, they walked through the deserted temple into the streets of night, where celebrants were lying passed out or engaged in their own versions of the barraz with each other. The roar of the night surf filled Christina's ears & she broke contact to run to the ocean; she dove in, & stood in the surf, smiling at him onshore until she could no longer resist the waves & dove back into her ocean; he laughed softly & shook his head, bemused at the human disappearing in the surf with the savage innocence of a goddess. _Tomorrow_, he said in his heart. _Tomorrow. And I will receive it threefold. Yevon, oh Yevon, I'm on fire for her. _

In the dawn, Dara serenely lifted her eyes after her prayer of devotion & sniffed the remainder of burnt ozone underlying the sweet scent of bruised kymara petals. _AH…I was right…life will be very interesting soon; it smells of the divine presence already._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's note: I take absolutely no credit for the lovely Indian love lyrics in this chapter; they are an excerpt roughly translated from Hindi to English of a performance named Maar Dala (It Killed Me)from the film Devdas, an extraordinary love story in its own right. **_

**Chapter Three**

Day two of the barraz was usually a late start, as most of the Besaid Islanders hit the first night with far greater enthusiasm than their more urban counterparts, like in Luca or the Capital, where the drinking of the black was done in dainty, restrained sips. A more relaxed attitude prevailed, gifts or repayment of debts usually took place on this day, until sunset, then the men's dance began. It was simply an excuse for the men to cut loose, strut & shine, as the Spirean culture held that both sexes were equally beautiful & graceful, but most working families had men as primary supporters, with little chance to pursue the arts. Tidus liked to dance, but usually only in a group, solos felt too much like a preening bird in an awkward courting phase; being from Zanarkand, he had a far more of an urban attitude than the inhabitants of the Besaid Isles. He absentmindedly stretched in the late morning sun on beach, then dove in the clear water from the shoreside Oceanus statue to refresh himself for the evening's riotous insanity. He swam, & frolicked near where he had left his Christina in her element last night, smiling, childishly imagining he'd find her footsteps in the sand of the ocean floor.

Yuna was nowhere to be found when he returned to her house to pick up fresh clothing from the storage chest he kept in a spare bedroom there. He usually didn't wear much of anything but athletic clothing designed for blitzball or the protective clothing of a guardian. He had secretly kept the Earth Surf shorts & the pendant stuffed into the backpack Christina insisted he take through the gate, & decided to wear the pendant tonight under the loose comfortable tunic & pants everyone usually wore on Besaid. A marketplace seller had braided a thin strip of leather in a complex weave into a necklace for the glittering pendant, which hung low on his sculpted torso. He had thought of wearing the tightly twisted pareo, a short loincloth of fabric that clearly outlined the island men's assets; there were teams of men who danced in the pareo & it never failed to attract the women's attention, which was of course, highly desired. The long-held unspoken custom in Besaid for the second night of the barraz was that the men were courted by the women; Tidus hoped the pendant would be enough of a subtle signal to Christina that she would know to pick him. No way was he going to wear Kymara blossoms like a wafter or a pubescent youth.

The afternoon progressed in to a long lazy day for Christina, who idled at the beach, surfing & swimming, then taking part in a refreshing meal with several women of the temple, all nursing hangovers from the black & atwitter at the chance to court a man tonight. She later soaked in one of the volcanic springs with Dara & two giggling novices; the girls wasted no time in relating the charming custom of Besaid to her, each teasingly claiming each other's crush from the night before. Dara also mildly teased them, asking how could they remember a man, if they were so blindly intoxicated they couldn't remember their own names last night? "Lady Dara, there are just some men you can never forget! Remember how Excelion looked the first time he attended the barraz 3 years ago? The pareo of black leather & the jeweled armbands? He was so showered with favors & gifts, no one could see his neck!"

"Ahh, yes…Excelion is a fine figure of a man, his buttocks are plump and well muscled as a stallion…but then, I always favored a fair head over the dark. I remember giving a fire headed creature my earrings of green chataphrsye once; speaking of gifts- Lady Christina, do you have enough gifts left for favors tonight? There is time to go to the stalls in the market if you need to."

Christina smilingly agreed, as she thought to be fair & gift as many men as she could to ensure no hurt feelings; besides as a guest of Besaid, she felt it better to tread lightly & appreciate everything offered somehow. She had thought that her beautiful evening with Tidus the night before was near perfection, & had hugged herself in delight more than once this day at the sweetness of the memory. It was all she had desired in him, except for the surprise of his holding back of pleasure for himself. But in the light of day, the unspoken promises between them seemed to fade; she had the thought he was done with her, he had appeased the gods with his offering of himself to her and would go on to another lover tonight, as any normal Besaidan would.

She told herself: _I should let go now; he has given the best of himself to me; it will be a jewel of memory to set in a Besaidan golden day._

Dara saw Christina's sad smile to herself & amusedly thought: _So, you think this soul-bond between you & Tidus-san has run its course, young human? You don't know Spireans – you have only seen the smoke, so far. Just wait until the spark sets fire. It will be a new world for you tomorrow. And I? I will welcome a new world. _

There were a thousand things at the market stalls; garlands of flowers, jeweled earrings, armbands by the hundreds, pareos of liquid silks, brocades & the infamous soft black leather Excelion had made popular. There were exquisite warrior-chains in all metals for the neck or even a well sculpted torso, all designed to enhance the male figure; there were more primal things, things for the carnal act between woman & man also; all not only acceptable, but encouraged, in this festival of pleasure. Fascinated, she picked up a superbly carved ring of shell, obviously made to enhance a male, admired its smooth curves & pearlescent finish, glinting with all the colors of ocean; the seller teased her gently about thinking of her Oceanus & suddenly weak at the knees from the memory of Tidus standing nude in front of the Oceanus altar, she hastily set it down.

At Dara's suggestion, Christina chose an entire basket of garlands made of kymara blooms & a set of intricately carved drinking cups for anyone she knew by name, as the blooms would be a charming reminder of her symbol that Tidus had created; the cups could be filled with drink & presented as a polite gesture; it was a common theme to offer a cup to man with a courtly phrase this evening.

_But what of Tidus? What gift shall you give him?_ Her mind asked from a locked away corner. Christina shook her head, thinking it'd be ridiculous of her to give a gift to someone who clearly had her only to fulfill an act of atonement. Yet the mental finger kept poking her, nagging her to remember his words, 'whatever pleasure I give a woman, it will be returned threefold when I ask for it'; and then the thought sprang to her mind, unbidden: _He's trying to tell you he wants you to give him the pleasure he gave you._

And then she had it. All she needed was something to offer the invitation; a symbol that she understood his desire very well. The jeweler's stall on the end had exactly what she needed. Then she asked Dara where she could entertain for an evening that was less mundane than her room, a place she politely described as a setting for a jewel of Yevon. Dara inwardly cackled, enjoying the polite game of protocol immensely, then gave her the key to her summerhouse flet in the garden; it was secluded, furnished exquisitely ( she'd had her lovers stay when she was young & warmed a little at the memories) & the dwelling would be deserted – Dara planned to spend her evening drinking with old friends after the men's dance was over. Christina carefully bundled some items together, then quietly & quickly walked them to the flet. She played with Tidus' gift for a few minutes, then walked up the path to escort Dara to the barraz.

The barraz was a far different experience than the first night. The air was sexually charged; men were proudly walking about bare-chested, skin oiled, with armbands delicately showing off sculpted arms; pareos were wrapped tightly about well shaped hips, & of course, one saw every style of dress, or undress, in between.

Tidus was on the more casual side, as he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself; he just wanted Christina to notice him; his gilt spiked hair was at least brushed until it shone; he wore a pair of deep blue tunic pants, loose & cool, knotted at the hips firmly to prevent any woman from excitedly creating an embarassing display with the pendant dangling from the intricately woven cord, brushing against his upper abdominals in a subtle pointer to the trimness of his waist. Everyone crowded close to see the Akiro clan start the men's dancing; the clan head, Akaharsu Akiro, was the catch in his day & insisted his clan have faultless grouping & perfect timing, even if they had to stand on their heads.

Everyone applauded the striking performance to the old song, 'Isle of Kisses' & women began to throw garlands, bring cups of drink, murmur compliments in between the subsequent dances; groups came & went, some with incredible solos breaking out; some were joined by male onlookers as the mood took them, when they recognized a favorite beat or a went to support a friend trying to make his best impression on a girl. Excelion & a group of temple men made their appearance in a very striking set of moves, imitating the hunt; they had practiced hard & the work showed in the way they moved as one, advancing to their prey, the women, with wide white smiles & mock pounces; Excelion broke out into a solo, leaping high over a group of crouching men, then using a sword, balancing it, moving in a rhythmic display of balance & holding subtly sexual poses as he smoothly moved in time with the beat.

Christina appreciated the skill with the sword no small amount & wondered why Tidus was standing there to the side & to the back , when he could easily outshine this dark bronzed man with silk-black hair & richly brocaded pareo. She made up her mind to be a good guest & brought Excelion a drink, presenting the cup, smiling & with a simple compliment to his beauty, which was like that of the sword he wielded & she was sure he would slay a city with it, should he come to Earth. Startled, Excelion bows, accepting the cup; Tidus' heart plummets – she is showing that over-jeweled half flooping wafter HER favor!

Excelion notes Tidus' dismayed face & enigmatically amused like old Dara, he decides to tilt the favor to Tidus, for a kindly heart lived under the temple training & dark glamor of Excelion. He knew how Tidus yearned for this woman's attention. He had been the go-between on building the surfboard, & he knew that no man would go to such trouble for a woman's happiness unless he were in deep water. He walks over to Tidus & begins a tease to draw Tidus out: "Can you believe the quality of this cup? The Earth woman has taste, by the god! What eyes she has, I wonder if she is a jewel of Yevon underneath the tunic! She would be lonely by now, no lover has claimed her, yes? I would be happy to do the job myself if you don't care to offer, Tidus!"

Jealousy flares & Tidus knocks the cup from his hand, but Excelion just grins: "Ah-Hah! Now we know the metal of your mettle!" Stepping closer, he gently squeezes the bronzed shoulder & his eyes now serious, he says: "Tidus, I will help you get her. Come. Dance, you can do it – the sword exercises, you know, the ones we do in the mornings. We'll all be here, with you."

Another man picks up the cup, refills it, & grinning, tilts a draught down Tidus' throat, then gives him a friendly shove into the group. The beat begins; chanting, the men arrange themselves & they start to move in rhythm, Tidus loosening up with the familiar moves of the sword practice, which was always set to drums to encourage an unconscious rhythm; the men slowly push him up front until he is beside Excelion, the two forming a perfect foil for each other; one a richly gleaming dark jewel & the other a golden fire under the torchlight.

Cheering, the crowd begins to call for Tidus to do a solo; favors fly, garlands of kymara pelt him, a hundred women are in the front are sighing with desire: but not seeing a favor from Christina, he starts to melt back into the group of men. Christina takes her cue, & as he turns away, she thinks of Tidus with all her heart & mind, then pulls at the metal chain at her neck & casts it; singing, the necklace expands into a glittering arc & whips around his wrist, with a sting from the last links. The crowd is delighted to see this outright act of claiming; it was audacious, & nothing succeeds in war or love like audacity, which pleased their hearts; they begin to trill & chant as Christina lets the chain maille wrap itself mindlessly around her wrist, then slowly steps forward, never giving any slack to the thread of metal, until she reaches Tidus, who was none too gently pushed back to the front by his grinning, sweating, & envious dance partners. She called for one of the novices to bring her basket, & with charming glances at the crowd of men, she offers them the remaining favors, one by one. Then beautiful Tidus, her golden Tidus, is left snared in a golden chain. Emphasizing her words carefully, she spoke, pitching her voice to be heard above the giggles & twitters of the women:

"Guardian Tidus, tonight I have seen a fire in the night that burned more brightly than day; I hope you remember your lessons on the art of…war on Earth & can show me how well you do battle now. I beg of you, one dance tonight, for…me." Christina leaves the chain maille on his wrist as her mark of favor, which had a key to Dara's summerhouse flet attached.

Tidus' heart sings at the memory of the war of love on Earth & he nods, understanding in his eyes. Now confident, he nods to the drummers, picks up Excelion's sword & moves into an opening stance. He moves through the sword exercises to the beat & and encouraged by the chanting of the men, he begins to improvise his steps; he remembers the first night he & Christina were lovers, how he caught her with the chain maille; now fearless, he starts to use the chain maille as he moved, at first a demonstration of a deadly but beautiful weapon, swinging it in glittering arcs, then letting it wrap around his torso, his arms, his waist, as he continued to move with the beat. He ends the solo with a snap of the wrist, sending the end of chain maille to gently land at Christina's feet, just waiting to be picked up again.

Delighted again, the crowd roars it approval at the clever display of manly strength & the couple's maneuvering through the protocol of the second night of barraz.

Tidus was awesomely drunk when he left the barraz, as the men poured drinks down his throat, cooing & fussing over his luck in getting the earthling's attention; the women called out & teased him also, loading him with garlands of kymara, singing courtly couplets of love poetry. Then as the women moved on, singing & teasing new arrivals, now engaged in the dance & protocols of barraz courtship, he left to find Christina.

The key was no puzzle, but he was diverted by the fact it belonged to old Dara, after seeing her symbol stamped in the metal; he'd heard tales from the guardians about Dara's barraz days. He almost whistled when he stepped onto the luxurious flet; it was hung with fabric, like the desert-dweller's tents, but it was light & airy, letting in ocean breezes if desired. Swaying a little, he blinked at the sight of his prize, his earth woman sitting on the sleeping platform, now clad in just a sheer veil wrapped saree style about her; it left nothing to the imagination, & he was glad he didn't have to use his imagination, as he had done with past bed-partners; she was a gem, from her tumble of glossy hair to the delicate sculpted vase of her torso, crowned with breasts that were not too large, nor shallow cups; he loved the way her hips gently flared, with a ripple of muscle, further enhanced by slim muscled legs, with two well made feet, strongly arched as a runners, made for dancing, perched like two butterflies on the edge of the sleeping platform.

Christina surprised him with the first move; she rose & gently knelt for a moment, touching his feet, then heart then forehead in the Indian gesture of respect at the beginning of the book of Kama Sutra she remembered. She thought she would try to make it as much of a ritual as he did last night, & focus on giving him the pleasure of all the senses. She had thought about how she should behave while waiting in the candlelit pleasure-tent, & decided she would lead; her memory of Tidus' last words about returning threefold was still strong in her mind & she took that as something of a challenge. _Am I capable of that much? Would this night bring him as dizzying array of sensual overload as I had?_ She looked down at the bite mark she had left in her hand from stifling her cry during the second gate. _Tidus, what the hell is sex here, anyway? Sometimes it seems like breathing here, everyone is so sexually charged; then it seems like it's sacred. I have no idea which direction to take it tonight! Well, Christy girl, here it goes…just dive in & pray it doesn't blow up in my face… _

Tidus was shocked at first when Christina initiated contact, then charmingly caressed his face, reciting an old Indian love lyric:

_Whose foot step is this?_

_Whose shadow is this?_

_There was a knock at my heart, who entered here?_

_Who spread this vibrant color over me?_

Christina's fingers drift down his neck, his chest & torso, leaving trails of exquisite fire, which she follows with kisses at the tantric points of desire on the neck just below the ear, the hollow between the collarbones & the sun-bronzed nipple; he gasps as she suddenly bites down, but as she hovers on the edge of pain, he burns with a searing intensity he'd never felt before. "The lash of a tiger's tail" she softly informs him. Slowly, he begins to understand that she took his words literally, & the secret voice inside of him slyly whispers; _Yes! YES! Let her come to him! Drown me in pleasure, darling girl!_ And then with a deep excitement he finds himself letting go; shaking with desire, he allows gentle hands to untie the loose pants & let them drop to the floor with a caress to his backside, another shock; her arms slide under his, tighten around his slim waist & pick him up with an unexpected strength, walking two steps, then gently depositing his frame on the bed-platform.

Dazed, he looks up thinking: _Holy Yevon, did she just do what I thought she did?_ Taking another cue from a memory of the Kama Sutra, she daintily kneels, picks up the silken drape over the soft mattress & kisses it before slowly climbing on top of him, pausing to kiss other points of his body he had never thought of as erotic before: the inside of a thigh; the gentle bump of the pelvic bone; the beating pulse point of his wrist. What happened next was wholly unexpected: her head dipped down between his legs & began congress orally; on Spirea, it was an act reserved for same-sex couples, & he momentarily began to fight it; she grabbed his wrists, pulled them off her hair & held them down as she ruthlessly continued; sweating, gasping, he climaxed with an intensity he'd never felt before.

As he lay there, the red heat of the climax subsiding, she reached over his head, poured a draught & rinsed her mouth, then shyly smiled at him; Tidus began to shyly smile back & then with a whoop, he throws his arms back above his head on the soft bed, laughing in sheer delight: "I knew you'd be like the black!"

Christina also begins to quietly laugh, then pours some of the beverage on him from the goblet in her hand; 'There, now thee are blessed by the water goddess, Tidus mine!"

"Yours?" he is suddenly intent, hopeful of hearing more.

Christina's face burns at the slip of her tongue; Tidus saw her face in the candlelight, shyly blushing & eyes downcast as a virgin's & inwardly, he delights in the knowledge that she feels for him. He picks up the hand now nervously plucking at the pillow propping up his head & kisses it, then gently leads it down his body in a controlled caress; then the second of Earth's love lessons begins for Tidus.

_The Sporting of the Sparrow_, _owww…riiight..more like the endurance flight of an eagle!_ Christina thought as she pushed her tired leg muscles to keep moving , after taking the dominant position with Tidus; head thrown back, the bronzed skin glistening with a fine sheen of sweat, his soul takes flight, as he is freed from the physical work of pleasure-making & the second gate is broken through. Feeling somewhat shaken at not being in control, he pulls Christina close, to feel some normalcy again in this journey of pleasure; his gilt head is softly kissed & soon, she is filling him with the deep, sensual & satisfying kisses he gave her the evening before; their hands meet & clasp, then Tidus feels her slyly let go, shaking the chain maille loose & wrapping it around both their wrists, binding them as they were on the 1st night he seduced her into letting him be her lover.

Overcome, now understanding the sensual eroticism of letting go of control & receiving pleasure, he simply became a tsunami, pulling Christina to him, using all the virile young strength of his body to express his newfound sense of sexuality; too late, Christina realizes she had not satisfied him, but only _incited_, invited him; strong arms lift her up & he jumps off the dizzying height she has brought him to, fiercely allowing himself pleasure, his voice rising in a wordless cry at the breaking point of release.

He comes to his senses eventually, & exhausted, he regards the wondrous creature tangled in his arms. Touched to the point of tenderness with Christina at breaching the barriers of Spirea's protocols, he is near speechless. Wordlessly, he lays there looking at her in the candlelight & the trembling words form in his mind: _Oh Christina, what have you done? For the first time in my life, I didn't have to be someone else at their demand; I didn't have to be a guardian, or a hero, either. I've been hiding behind giving pleasure, pleasing everyone, so I didn't have face the fact I didn't know how to receive it . No one has ever seen me so clearly... _

Shaken herself, physically near exhaustion, Christina lies quietly in the shelter of Tidus' arms, also looking at him. When the candle by the bed gutters & dies, she silently finishes the evening with a simple Namaste of hands to forehead & bows, hands to heart. A profound silence is shared between them; nothing more needed to be said, but they still communicated their interior landscape with the way they treated each other; gentle supportive arms encircled a slim waist; a hand was tenderly taken & kissed; cascades of warm water were poured like offerings over heads & down backs in the warm pool in the garden outside the door of the flet; tired arms were massaged of their burning aches & in turn, gently rubbed hips that had been well worked; a kymara bloom finds its way into Benedictine amber hair, then is later captured by another loving, teasing hand for memory's sake.

Tidus' voice, shy & thick with unspoken emotions finally whispers; "Goodnight, Christina" …but his mind says: _ How do I ever let you go, now that you know me?_

And then she is left there in the soft night, alone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The Dawn of the 3rd day of Besaid's barraz stole in quietly, along with Yuna, into the house she lived & occasionally shared with Tidus. She had lived the last two days in utter pleasure at the port city of Luca, a guest of another summoner at the temple. She cared not if Tidus had been with everyone in Besaid, or no one. It was the barraz, the time to experience freedom of the soul; to give & receive pleasure. She smiled at Tidus sleeping soundly on the back deck, arm thrown over his eyes. He appeared none the worse for wear, though a pile of wilted garlands told her he had been showered with attention last night & she gently smiled at the memory of the attentions she had been showered with in Luca. He wore a new necklace & so did she, which prompted her to ensure she found a safe place to keep it, a jewel of memory stored in its glittering facets. Today was the blessing of the island day, a long trek under the sun, & somewhat primitive by Luca standards, with its residents freely falling to the ground in sacred congress as they felt necessary. She softly laughed at the memory of old Dara describing the event when she was a novice, swearing that day caused the spillage of more men's seed than a week of an entire squad of SeeD's on leave in a Capitol brothel.

Tidus had left his father's chain maille necklace hanging on the door of Christina's small lodge on the temple grounds before he had laid down to rest in the dregs of the evening before; foolishly romantic, he wanted the memory of being with him to be strong & not fade in the strong sun of Besaid. He just had to have her to himself, and be damned to anyone, even Yuna. He could handle it.

He decided he would make a formal offer to her. Of course, it must be secret for now, as formal Earth-Spirean treaties need to be drawn up first to recognize humans as legal entities in the Spirean governmental system. But…other offers could be made, & frequently were; everyone turned a blind eye to them.

Yuna & Tidus were both awakened later by a din in the streets; people were crying, screaming the father Yevon's name over & over; at first both thought they had overslept & were missing the blessing of the island. They ran for the door, tying sashes, grabbing formal tunics; once outside & jogging down the road to the temple, they discovered through the crazed, chanting locals that the temple had come back to life; it was now supposed that the father Yevon would reappear. Pushing past the crowds gathering at the doors, they enter the temple & are astounded:

The main altar chamber was a sight of a symphony of color, light & movement; lights blinked & machinery whirred, like a computer getting ready to reboot itself. At the main altar, several people had made their way in, despite temple guards; they were all praying, groaning & shouting at the display; some had even become possessed in frenzy of sacred congress.

_Madness_, Tidus thought. _What happened? When did this happen? Why NOW?_ He reaches forward, & grabs a praying acolyte he recognizes & starts to question him. The acolyte, a student of the smooth Excelion, but now without his usual composure, nearly squeaks with excitement: "It began in the Oceanus chamber! The…the altar just sank, right into the floor yesterday & rose again today- the walls moved, & revealed screens. The library started to light up. Then the altar here started to move. Something is _happening!"_

"Is anyone logging the activity? Where is the librarian? Get some memory spheres started! Yuna? Do you need anyone? We need to find the head summoner, where is he?"

Yuna turns to Tidus, & he sees she is deeply excited; she gazes in awe at the main altar, now illuminated in a deep red light. Trembling, she gasps softly, exclaiming "It's true, he IS coming..oh Tidus…" Her eyes took on that faraway glitter all summoners get, when a ritual starts. Slowly, she walks towards the main altar, delicate lips moving in a silent prayer. She pauses when a block of light below her feet lights up & holograms of delicate flowers drift up, winking in & out around her; it was like a sheer veil of light had wrapped around her, heightening her dainty beauty. Yuna looks back & beckons him, eyes now gently pleading.

Tidus never saw her look more beautiful & his heart softens momentarily, at her entranced happiness at being so close to the divine presence she has prayed to all her life. And as always, bowing to Yuna's holy need as her beloved guardian & friend, he steps forward to join her in the veil of light before the altar.

He gently tried to get her attention, but she was again lost in a world of her own, eyes fixed on the altar as she recites her summoning phrases; they feel the push of power between them enter the room; gaining momentum, it hums & changes pitch to a near shriek of sound, far different than the gentle hum of power as in the past. A burst of energy rises from the floor, overwhelming the pretty flower-holos with a hard blue-white light, then divides & subdivides into spears of light surrounding the block in floor they are standing on.

He tears his eyes away from Yuna's lovely tranced face & looks about to see if there are any other summoners in a trance like her.

A glimmer of white catches his eye & he sees his lover of the previous night, eyes wide, face white as the sheer veil she had worn from last night's exquisite love-play. Helpless, Tidus looks at Christina while Yuna buries her head in his shoulder, awed at being so close.

The flow of emotions on Christina's face was so strong he could almost sense her shock at this ultimate betrayal; he thought sadly of his unspoken heart-offer, now left unsaid, now dead. He mentally sighed at the thought of Yuna, the words 'sacred duty' were just an excuse to his mind now, with a dry-as-dust taste. But he had set his feet on this path with Yuna as guardian so long ago; he was selfish, trying to bring Christina along. Bitterly he thought: _Yevon, here is my sacrifice of flesh & blood. _

The altar started to slowly shift, changing its shape slightly from a simple rectangle to a more concave shape, Coming closer to the block he & Yuna stood upon. Tidus decided it was time to step away & let the head summoner step in, but as he stepped back, he was oddly repelled back into the block. The spear-wall of light would not let him loose; it had become an impenetrable haze of energy. He began to kick & punch at it, then throwing himself at it, he was pushed back again & again. Panting, tears rise to his eyes & his blood crashes against his skull in the realization they are trapped. And with a dreadful certainty, he knew imprisonment somehow meant death. Very gently, he takes Yuna by the shoulders, looks deeply into her eyes, & Yuna's awed terror at being trapped subsides; they gaze at each other & faintly smile, unspoken words of warmth in their eyes as they realize they are together, guardian & summoner; friends & first loves. They will not die with strangers.

Christina's heart at observing Tidus & Yuna trapped in the square, a breath away from death, was filled with a pain beyond belief. She knew now what it truly meant to be human, & not Spirean; she'd been pretending that she was Spirean all along & now, the naked truth was revealed; she was the alien. She should turn away, before the scene of Tidus & Yuna joined forever in death burnt itself into her heart forever.

_I don't want you to end like this, Tidus_, she thought; _I'd die for you right now._

Tidus looks over one last time at Christina beyond Yuna's shoulder; his eyes were the clearest, tenderest blue as he saw his father's chain maille on christina's neck; then his sun bronzed hand rose & touched the wall of light-spears. Christina's hand rose & gently placed itself on the opposite side, & there they stood, a bizarre triangle of summoner, guardian & human.

A sparkle lit somewhere in the millimeters of space between their outstretched hands & crackling, it rapidly gained strength & size until it changed from white to blue & then with a sudden snap, the impermeable wall latches onto the sparkle, giving it life until the glittering trails of bio-energy move along the invisible power traces & are sucked into the block of light in the floor Tidus & Yuna stood on.

With a sickening wrench, the temple shudders & groans, as the massive machinery below the ground & in the walls begins to move; the energy created by Tidus & Christina gave the final charge, enabling the operating system to reboot itself. Now awake, the powerful mind of the system seeks its primary liaison point; it finds Tidus & Yuna at the key point & begins to assimilate the two Spireans into itself, as it has always done.

Yuna welcomed the holy spirit of the temple, & she begins to be absorbed by the energy now blazing from the block of the floor; she is holding onto Tidus, & it begins to assimilate him also. Tidus lets go of her hands, then struggles at first with all of the strength of youth; he didn't want to be a part of a god. Everyone witnessing saw Tidus struggling against being assimilated; they began to shout & cry. Christina, now sickened, remembers how he struggled in the water of Earth, when the moray eel had caught his foot. _I brought him home only to die like a rat in a cage._

Dully she gazes at the altar, now joined by a throne-like chair rising from another block in the floor behind the altar, a view-screen lowering from the ceiling & a dully gleaming statue against the wall.

In a flash of intuition, she sees this isn't right, the altar has only one chair, one screen, one statue, not …two. The temple can only assimilate one, not two.

Now desperate to free him, she runs to the hazy power grid & throws things at it in utter frustration; the organic things bounce off, but a metal goblet sank in slowly, dancing energy charges around it, but not through it.

She gets the idea she can break the energy grid, If she tries hard enough, & be damned to her life. A wild idea enters her head: _Ok, Christy girl…think! To stop Tidus from being sucked into the inner space of the machine, I need something metal; & maybe, just maybe, being human, it might not block me. I'm human, not Spirean! The Aeons didn't stop me! Metal, I need metal, dammit! _

Her hand brushes her neck & the fingers touch cool metal. She takes Tidus' chain maille necklace off her neck, then taking aim with a blaze of her will in her aqua eyes, she throws it with all her strength at Tidus in the bubble. It swings out in its glittering arc, seeking, slows slightly sinking through energy haze like heavy water & mindlessly binds to him; she pulls with all her might; Tidus is pulled away from Yuna, but the wall still blocks his escape; gathering her courage, Christina runs full tilt at the wall & jumps; the energy wall liquidly oozes down the chain maille, surrounding her; she feels like the very skin is burning off her, but she barrels through the exquisite singing pain, pulls Tidus against her & she falls backward dragging him free in a tumble on the ground.

The wall snaps, & still holding Yuna in its grasp, it implodes into the floor of the temple; then the temple is stunningly alive.

Screens flicker & images of the machine's persona start to flow into them; holograms dance on the walls, the floor, & in the air, of strange, yet familiar images of Aeons. Yuna's image flickers like a ghost through the displays, but the form of Yuna is nowhere to be seen anymore. The machine begins to speak & the summoners respond, kneeling.

Yuna's image, splashed across the main screen behind the altar, almost real, but not quite, appears; her voice softly morphing into a thousand shards of cascading sounds, she tells the summoners she is now part of what she always wanted; she is with Yevon, the father; that he requires a liaison to do his tasks at every temple; she was chosen as his for Besaid. After a delicate pause, singing cut crystal chimes scaling in her voice, Yuna informs them that Yevon knows two were present; but with the temple machina, there can be only one. One liaison.

Tidus is devastated; his Yuna is gone. He throws himself at the altar, screaming for her to come back.

In turn devastated, the summoners turn to the head summoner. He is shaken, but after 76 years on Spirea, he brings forward his untapped well of strength & wisdom to them; he leads them in prayer, then quietly states: "Be grateful you are witness to such events as these!" He begins to firmly rap out commands to tend to the other people in the temple, check the rest of the summoners in other chambers, tend memory spheres & then begins a root cause analysis to assess the near disaster of losing a summoner & nearly a guardian to the needs of Yevon. It is he who predicts: "Tidus will see in time what a blessing it was to have been brought back to Besaid; let us tend to the human & to the temple. Someone find old Dara, & quickly."

A form lies so quietly on the floor, next to Tidus weeping wildly, head on the altar. The head summoner gently kneels by Christina, appalled at the damage done to her. He grimly nods at the group & two summoners detach themselves; they quietly knock Tidus out, bringing a welcome silence the chamber & carefully carry him out.

As Dara steps forward, having been recording events in the Oceanus chamber, she also nods grimly at Christina's burned skin & says to the head summoner: " I know not how to heal humans, but let us try what we know; she somehow thrived on Spirea after a period of induction; perhaps her body is capable of healing itself. However, I think we should move her from here, & try our own healing arts. If all else fails, we can offer her the cup & leave her in the hands of Yevon." _But I doubt that is your fate, young human,_ she thought as the summoners rose to do her bidding.

Dara simply knew that Christina coming here was no accident; she had analyzed & measured theory in her mind to the 3rd level of root cause & the outcomes of the theories were all the same. Christina would live. She took strength in that, but could not help reciting a short prayer to Yevon when she had Christina's body laid in the healing arts room. It was burned, as one would have a sunburn in some places, but charred where the skin was not protected by clothing; it did not begin to heal & knit over but seemed to deepen as time progressed & her breathing was shallow; her heartbeat began to change its steady beat into arrhythmia.

The summoners were at least able to kill the pain in Christina's body, but the anguish of heart weighed heavily on her; her last memory was that of Tidus, running away from her, throwing himself at the altar & screaming for Yuna. Dazed from the pain killers, she spoke in the quiet of the room through cracked lips: "I've done the wrong thing; I've interfered, & this is my punishment. He was supposed to die with his beloved Yuna; oh, I was selfish, so selfish, Dara…but how could I help myself? My heart was lost to him the minute I rescued him from the ocean. It was like he was thrown in my path." Exhausted, she slips away into blackness, murmuring: " I am glad…so glad…I am not dying with strangers…."

Gently, carefully, Dara had Christina moved to the worship chamber of Oceanus; she couldn't quite logic out why she had to do it, but it seemed a locus of the activity between Tidus & Christina; if nothing else, she thought it a fitting place to leave Spirea for Christina; she was a water-creature & perhaps some memory of the tenderness the two lovers shared would have been left there in the comforting walls. Once there, Dara began to pray, prayer beads calmly clicking& rattling as she let her mind drift, while chanting the readings of Yevon. As her mind drifted, a question bubbled up on her lips in the golden well of silence: "Yevon, show me how to heal her; she is worthy opponent of life. "

The low altar raises, and a clicking of another machine, muffled by the wall behind oceanus grows louder in the quiet of the temple chamber. A thin thread of light rises from the altar & starts to traverse the wretchedly burnt body of the human; then a static hum fills the air & the altar lowers itself below ground, taking Christina with it, then somehow, the floor blocks move into a new pattern over the the place where the altar was. It was like assimilation, but unlike. Dara & her novice simply waited in the chamber all night; the novice only left to bring in cups of hot tea in the cool of the night. The floor moved again shortly after dawn, & the altar rises with Christina. Her skin is fresh as morning dew; with awe in her dark eyes, Dara sees a great healing had been wrought by the temple.

A quiet man's voice, underlaid with a hint of amusement whispers in the chamber: " This species is not of Spirea, how came you by a human, mistress Dara of Besaid?" A pause & small burst of soft static precedes the next statement: " I have fulfilled your request; the human's damages are corrected; you will find them tenacious of life; Allow her to sleep until the healing cycle is complete."

The voice of Yevon, further amused, waits until she reaches the chamber door before saying: 'Send this Tidus to me after she wakes."

Tidus wearily shut the door to the Oceanus chamber; after awakening, but still enraged at being alive, he moodily strode forward, & stops dead at the sight of Christina sleeping on the altar, laid out as if she had died.

Suddenly his heart cracks & breaks, remembering how she pulled him out, the golden skin charring in the intense energy of the power-wall; now she is lost, another victim of his selfish desire to live, to love, to be someone other than a guardian. He kneels in front of Oceanus, humbled to the core. He prayed to Yevon after years of silence: "Help me Yevon, help me! Yuna, my Yuna, she is in you now! I don't want to live, she was my summoner & I was her guardian…please, please let me be with her… I left her, tell her I wanted to stay with her…I have done so much wrong to this human – I brought her here, I led the way as a lover, because I wanted her near; I was selfish, so selfish… " the words eventually slowed to a murmur of sounds as he lay there on the temple floor, too emotionally drained to even move.

The temple machine screens quietly began to flicker & with a buzz of static, it sends signals to a long forgotten piece of machinery with a lens like an eye & it shoots forth light….then wavering, the image of Yuna moves across the floor until it is before Tidus. He scrambles to his feet & overjoyed for a moment, wildly reaches to embrace her, then falls to the floor, arms empty. Bitterly, he remembers another time when Yuna reached for him & he, a dying dream, could not hold her, letting her fall to the ground in grief.

"_Tidus, darling Tidus_," she quietly says, her voice more controlled, more human, but now underlaid with a cool mechanical tone that bespoke of her psyche receding from the world of Spirea as she knew it. "_Tidus, you must not die, I tell you that you must live. You have a whole life to live, & you must not spend it waiting for me- I am different now- We will meet again, on the farplane. It's so different than what we thought. Don't be afraid, just live. Live for me. I command you_ _as my guardian, Tidus – you must guard the temple, for I am the temple liaison now & the temple needs its guardian like it needs a liaison."_

"_The father Yevon wants to speak to you now…please, listen."_

The temple machines crackled static again & the screens took on a dream-like pattern, multiple colors phasing through the old pixels in complex patterns; holograms take a vague manlike shape, but the face never congeals into one face; it keeps constantly morphing, different features blending into odd combinations, but all somehow beautiful. Then the quiet male voice, now authoritative with a hint of light amusement begins to echo again in the chamber:

"_Tidus, accept what has happened. Yuna is __my__ bride; she has joined with me. She will now be my liaison in all things at this locus-temple. All she says to you is true, but cannot you understand that love is a thing for the many, not the one? Your kind is not meant to love just one, as I love all my children, & as I love you, Tidus – my beloved sun-child of Zanarkand, brave, selfless, & with a heart that is open as the sky of Spirea itself. I give you a riddle to solve for yourself, & in it lies your key to your life: If someone is willing to lay down their life for his life, a Spirean should consider himself blessed to have such a bond. You were willing to die for Yuna & that is the greatest symbol of a true soul-love bond; simply go forth in the world & look for the same – it exists, I promise you- And ask yourself: who has been willing to die for __you__, guardian Tidus?"_

Two tracks of tears dry on Tidus' cheeks as he kneels in front of the altar; old Dara find him there when she arrives for the dawn devotional. Wisely, she simply kneels by him until he is ready to speak. A flood of memories wash over Tidus as he mentally relives everything that has happened to him since he met Yuna; when he is finished, he quietly sighs & turns to Dara, who has been joined by the summoners & novices, all quietly kneeling, supporting him with prayer, as he decides his path as temple protocol states.

"Dara-san, can you plan a joining?"

Inwardly, she exults & cackles to herself: _So, young man, you didn't drown in the sea of love..._

She politely replies with the ritual felicitations: "Tidus-san, may your joining be as Shuyin & Lenne! – But whom must I pursue on your behalf?" Now coyly feigning ignorance of his choice, as protocol dictates.

" Lady Christina of Earth" he barely whispers, then he is caught up in emotion, suddenly trembling with an unnamed up-swelling of some deep feeling at the memory of her delightedly grinning at him on the ocean, aqua eyes glinting with amusement under torchlight as she drinks the black; holding on for dear life at the end of a chain maille…

A murmur of appreciative laughter circles the summoners as they see his emotional reaction at announcing the name; the mood is much lighter, as the formalized protocol made it easier to work through such an emotionally laden subject.

Then slowly, they work through the formalized protocol of negotiating the joining, once the human asleep on the altar awakes; finally Tidus, now exhausted, is carefully walked to a hot spring to soak away his weariness & heal his battered psyche.

Christina awakes near sunset, when the cool breezes stir the chamber; Dara's novice hastens forward & shyly takes Christina's hands, helping her to sit upright. A brazier is nearby, & a cup of tea is brought forward; then Christina is also walked with care to the hot spring to soak away her ordeal.

In the evening, the novice helps her dress & she makes her way to the temple dining room to eat & listen to the events she missed after she had pulled Tidus out of the energy-wall. Everyone has something to say, & the discussion turns lively, as the summoners begin a new discourse of the theory of Spirean vs. human matter; therefore Tidus was able to enter the dining room seat himself & eat without any undue drama. He is taken under Excelion's wing & slowly the summoners absorb him into their discourses; but underneath it all, they are subtly amused, anticipating the next step in the joining protocol. Christina had not been told yet of Tidus' offer, & the novices fairly giggled over the secret, making Christina wonder: _What is up? Like I am going to throw myself at Tidus' feet, begging for his love after seeing him sacrifice himself for his Yuna?_ Then sadly she remembers her proud words: _Human hearts don't work that way._

Her heart wickedly disputes:_ Oh? You're a liar. Go to him. I dare you. _

Seeing Christina's eyes upon him, Tidus trembles, & nervously looks elsewhere, because he has no idea how to start anything with this creature from Earth at this point. Excelion, secretly tickled that Tidus is finally sensible about the state of his heart, gives him a nudge & quietly says: "Why not at least thank the woman for her efforts?" Sighing, he leans on his elbow, hand in chin, gazes adoringly at Christina, says with mock fascination: "By Yevon, I would be dead with desire if those jewels of eyes looked at ME like that!"

Excelions' dark eyes peep out from the corner from under his ruff of black lashes & Tidus sees he is amused by it all; suddenly, Tidus is also amused. He grins at Excelion & rises from his chair; he quietly walks to the door as Christina made her way away from the table surrounded by a knot of people; he steps forward & quietly bows with Spirean protocol then speaks: "Lady Christina, I owe you my life twice over now. Once on Earth, & now here, on Spirea. Spirean words or actions cannot express my gratitude; so I approach as a friend from Earth." Boldy, he steps forward & gently embraces her, then steps back, blushing furiously, which did nothing more than enchant the novices with his male beauty ( "Oh! I'll never look at a dark haired man again, Leida!") & make Christina blush also. Replying just as formally, she states: " Tidus, I will always be your friend, should you wish it. Accept my grief at the pain of losing your heart's desire, Lady Yuna."

_You have a beautiful mouth – & you are such a liar to use it so! _Her heart wickedly cackles like Old Dara's voice at her bland formal words.

He bows again and as she sweeps by, a kymara blossom in her hair trailing scent, he furiously thinks: _Friend? Friend!? How can we be just friends after all this? We've known each other & too closely, lady. We'll see how long your friendship lasts when I come to you with all my heart. _

Excelion & Dara look at each other across the room, each amused & delighted at the upcoming protocols in the next hours & silently toast each other.

In the soft candlelight of her room, Christina nearly chokes on her tea that the novice so carefully poured with exquisite finesse into twelve cups without spilling a drop. Dara calmly awaits her answer to Tidus' formal offer, serenely smiling as Tidus' envoy in the protocol of the joining ritual. Excelion is also there, taking the place of an elder advisor that Christina, as any partner-elect should have, to ensure a fair & balanced offer is made, or she is not forced to accept anything against her will.

"Oh? Join with a man who wanted to kill himself after he couldn't be with the love of his life? What will we do? Have a nice 3 way affair in the temple every night with Yuna?" is Christina's sarcastic reaction. Dara again secretly laughs, knowing Christina adores Tidus, & it is just pride speaking. "You can tell that…that…Zanarkand Zero-brain I'll not live as a second best pick!"

Delighted at some proper resistance to being joined, as protocol dictates the partner-elect should feign reluctance & allow themselves to be convinced with a gentle parrying argument, starting with a listing of attributes of the offered partner. Allowing her interior smile to reach her face, Dara replies: "There are no different kinds of love here, Lady – and, Tidus–san never asked to join with anyone before – not even Yuna, so you are not the second- you are the first!"

In turn, Christina startled at this truth, melts inside & struggles to maintain her composure. Her eyes met Dara's & with a sudden glint of humor at the old woman's clever sally, they smile & nearly giggle in the room, with ten more pairs of eyes are on them as they negotiate the offer for the next half hour, until a third cup of tea is poured; then Christina concedes in mock humility:

"Mistress Dara, I bow to your superior wisdom in the matter; tell Tidus-san…I accept."

As they ritually do the half bow & peculiar hand clasp, Christina remembers to ask: "What's next?"

"We get thee ready for a joining, lady!" Dara finally cackles. The next evening, the worship chamber of Oceanus is crowded with visitors, along with summoners & novices, all agog at the rumor that Tidus & the human are doing the joining ritual. Tidus & Christina were already there, quietly kneeling in front of the low altar. Each appeared calm, their serene faces gazing at Oceanus, but each hid a storm of emotions welling up: Thoughts of the instruction they received in the golden afternoon, the ministrations of friendly hands & hearts, running over the words they hoped they could say without their voices shaking, the garments they wore, would they drop quickly enough without tangling…

The head summoner, sleek & groomed with Excelion at his side holding the tray of the elements, stepped in & blessed the couple with water, earth & fire, then quietly asked each of them if the joining was of their free consent. Upon their agreement, they stepped back, Excelion with a quick grin & a wink, mouthing, 'You lucky bastard' to Tidus. The head summoner quietly finished his part of the ritual with: "The altar is yours; approach, & give of yourself to the gods in sacredness."

Tidus, his gilded head inclined slightly to meet Christina's aqua eyes, started with the traditional " You are mine, & I..I am yours…give of yourself to me , here & now." Christina, trembling, awaited his hands, now gently removing the simple saree draped material she favored with its thousands of clear crystal beads sparkling like beads of water on a water goddess' skin from her golden body; now, a true jewel of Yevon was revealed in her human form, burnished by Spirean sun, & honed by surf.

Heart beating wildly, thinking: _Holy hell! I'm standing without a stitch of clothing on in front of a packed room_!, Christina repeats the words, & untied Tidus' pareo ( his first) with a calmness she did not feel in the least. The women sucked in their breaths & irises suddenly dilate at the sight of a matching jewel of Yevon in male form; his shaggy head a halo of spirean sun-gold, youthful shoulders filling out with muscle, tapering to an incredibly slim waist; hips to make a woman faint with pleasure at the sight of bronze tanned skin stretched like a drum over the bones of the pelvic girdle.

Christina caught the flash of fear in his eyes & she touched his face to direct his gaze to her; she was afraid too, but she gathered herself to give him courage; barely above a sigh, she whispered, _"Remember our night here? This should be an old routine, yes?" _

Tidus let go of the silent scream of fear inside that had been building, & realized he could relax, she could lead, he was not forced to be the hero-guardian. His heart takes on a gleam of brightness in the dark of the room & he whispers next to her ear, _"It can't be any worse than being claimed by your chain maille, Earth girl!_' He then picks her up in the florid clasp the joining ritual dictates & together, they proceed with the event until the room is blanked out; no one else exists but the two of them; with steady courage, she meets him move for move, her eyes keeping his engaged to concentrate on the task at hand until their Sacred duty is done; then they quietly part only to dress, & shyly leave the temple, to the praises of Yevon traditionally called out by the witnesses at a proper joining.

Finally alone, after making their way down the streets, seemingly stopped every three steps with well wishes & toasts, they walk quietly, hand in hand until they reach the shore of the ocean. "Want to surf?" Christina asks – Tidus replies: "At night? What if there's a sea creature that wants to eat me?"

"I'll protect you."

Tidus dives in the rolling surf, & wickedly bemused, decides not to convince her of her madness. After all, he now has something he's always needed: a guardian. Two lovers, one from a planet a 1,000 universes away, one from a universe a 1,000 years in the past, play in the surf of Spirea.

And somehow, the world of Spirea becomes bearable for two beings, both alien to it.


End file.
